Independent Advisor Alliance Increases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,767 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 115,427 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 4,603 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of PPL by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 186,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,053,000 after buying an additional 24,421 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of PPL by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 398,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,810,000 after buying an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 203.3% in the fourth quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 13,348 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.95 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.08. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 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.