O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 11,006 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,006 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404,382 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 12.0% in 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. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551,070 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related 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 value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.51 and a 200 day moving average of $33.41. The stock has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

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.