GAMMA Investing LLC Has $622,000 Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 19.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $622,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in PPL by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 261,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 5,676 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $495,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 69.7% in the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 6,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE PPL opened at $32.27 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.54. The company has a market capitalization of $23.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.09.

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.