M&T Bank Corp Sells 1,199 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,199 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,551,070 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after acquiring an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Citigroup boosted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. Company 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.