Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Has $491,000 Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPL by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after purchasing an additional 201,417 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

PPL Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $33.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.54.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.