Merit Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Merit Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,462 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $916,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $33.05 and a 200 day moving average of $31.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $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. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.