Inceptionr LLC Invests $1.28 Million in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Inceptionr LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,277,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $147,480,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $943,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in PPL by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 214,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,956,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $4,631,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in PPL by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.57 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.44 and a 200-day moving average of $32.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. PPL’s payout ratio is 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

PPL Profile

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.