The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 5,009 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,784,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,009 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.24% of PPL worth $59,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $32.89 and a 200-day moving average of $30.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.14.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.96%.

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.