Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 17,821 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 229,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,821 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $7,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.86 and a 200-day moving average of $32.61.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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 initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

PPL 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.