PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC reduced its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,647 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in PPL by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 112,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,642,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 195,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The raised its stake in shares of PPL by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 101.6% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 57,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 28,982 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in PPL by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,647,682 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,942,000 after buying an additional 69,720 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $36.24 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $26.79 and a 1-year high of $36.66. The stock has a market cap of $26.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.70.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’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 $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.