PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 128.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 82,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,071 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 3,892 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 3,689 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 81,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,712,000 after buying an additional 13,297 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 3,322.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 212,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,421,000 after buying an additional 206,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.71. The company has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.