Allworth Financial LP Increases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 39.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,532 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in PPL were worth $115,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in PPL by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 17,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $558,000 after buying an additional 2,871 shares during the period. Palacios Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $520,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 450,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,642,000 after acquiring an additional 9,656 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in PPL by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 229,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,450,000 after purchasing an additional 17,821 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 128.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,071 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’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 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 90 days, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PPL. Citigroup upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.87 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.75. The stock has a market cap of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 85.12%.

PPL Company 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.