Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 119,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 60,392 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $33.48 on Friday. 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 has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $32.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.17.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. Barclays dropped their target price 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, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company 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.