MKT Advisors LLC Increases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

MKT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the quarter. MKT Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 85.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in PPL by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth approximately $916,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.04 and a 200 day moving average of $32.03.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.