Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 2,781 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,781 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in PPL by 84.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.78 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.99 and its 200 day moving average is $33.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91.

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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. PPL’s payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays boosted their price target 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 assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

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.