Natixis Advisors LLC Has $22.41 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 690,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,995 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of PPL worth $22,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

PPL Stock Up 0.8 %

PPL opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.12. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.91. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

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.