PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock Holdings Boosted by Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,215 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew 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 buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.27.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $34.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.81. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.87 and a 1 year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.