First County Bank CT Trims Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

First County Bank CT lowered its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in PPL were worth $560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 261,017 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,363 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 9.0% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,899,000 after buying an additional 5,676 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in PPL by 69.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 6,248 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $169,000. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 36,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 5,553 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.09.

PPL Stock Up 1.2 %

PPL stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $32.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,671,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,832,124. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.61. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.