PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Holdings Reduced by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 402,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 66,564 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $13,064,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PPL opened at $35.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its 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). 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. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

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.