Leelyn Smith LLC Sells 534 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Leelyn Smith LLC cut its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 81,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in PPL in the 3rd quarter worth about $273,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in PPL by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,009,000 after buying an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 23,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $783,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,189,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in PPL by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s 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 owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE PPL opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.12. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

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.