LPL Financial LLC Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,305,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,664 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.18% of PPL worth $42,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in PPL by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its stake in PPL by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.28. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued 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 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s 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.