PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.

Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. PPL comprises approximately 1.1% of Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of PPL by 322.6% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 933,723 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.88 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $24.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company 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.