PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Holdings Decreased by XML Financial LLC

XML Financial LLC reduced its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,790 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 458 shares during the period. XML Financial LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.06 and its 200-day moving average is $31.99. The company has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $35.15.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About PPL

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.