CIBC Asset Management Inc Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 338,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,293 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in PPL were worth $10,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after buying an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Up 1.3 %

PPL stock opened at $34.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.87 and its 200 day moving average is $32.64. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

About PPL

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.