National Bank of Canada FI Sells 773,291 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 63.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,837 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 773,291 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.06% of PPL worth $14,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 13,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 2,227 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in PPL by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 60,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,959,000 after buying an additional 11,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in PPL by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,982,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,208,000 after buying an additional 148,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.51 and a 200-day moving average of $33.41. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $36.64. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

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.