Empirical Finance LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.21 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.45. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.60 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

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.