Christine M. Martin Sells 1,146 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.57 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $33.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in PPL by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

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.