Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Sells 210,000 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd reduced its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 81.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 210,000 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 44,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 7.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in PPL by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 198,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,455,000 after acquiring an additional 4,504 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 1st quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 47,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 7,315 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.79. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.