PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,440 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Creative Planning increased its stake in PPL by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 114,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,796,000 after buying an additional 3,892 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $205,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 19.4% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 81,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 13,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 12.6% in the third quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 26,578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,982 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PPL. Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % 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, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.38 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $32.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.67. 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 $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.83.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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 $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.12%.

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.