PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) COO David J. Bonenberger Sells 981 Shares

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,898,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,122,749. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.16.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 933,723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.