Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPLFree Report) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 357,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,800 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $11,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.99. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPLGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Read Our Latest Report on PPL

About PPL

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for PPL (NYSE:PPL)

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