Xcel Wealth Management LLC Sells 12,705 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Xcel Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,705 shares during the quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 12.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets initiated 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.27.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $35.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.28. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.87.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.