Rothschild Investment LLC Sells 1,239 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Rothschild Investment LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in PPL by 8,599.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 96,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,132,000 after buying an additional 95,107 shares during the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its stake in shares of PPL by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 223,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,242,000 after acquiring an additional 61,522 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $785,000. TCW Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 13,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,659,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

PPL stock opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.06 and a 200 day moving average of $32.78.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.