Rothschild Investment LLC Decreases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Rothschild Investment LLC cut its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 19.4% during 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 last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in PPL by 3,322.3% during 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. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in PPL by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 12,609 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 4.2% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 60,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.78.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.