Sei Investments Co. Grows Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 443,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,456 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in PPL were worth $14,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth $75,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 109.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after buying an additional 63,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,361,000 after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PPL. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 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 value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About PPL

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.