Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 698 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in PPL were worth $1,646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective 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 upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of PPL opened at $34.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.87 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.75.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.12%.

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.