Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 909,911 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,929,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 909,911 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PPL were worth $95,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $35.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.18 and a 200-day moving average of $33.26. 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 data 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.