National Pension Service Sells 97,464 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

National Pension Service reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,000,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 97,464 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in PPL were worth $32,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 75.3% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 246,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,998,000 after acquiring an additional 105,832 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in PPL by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 146,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,090,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,226,000 after purchasing an additional 44,557 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in PPL by 8,599.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 96,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 95,107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its holdings in PPL by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 223,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,242,000 after purchasing an additional 61,522 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $35.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.87. The firm has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

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.