Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 387,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,293 shares during the quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $12,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 85.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 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 $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $32.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.87 and a 1 year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its 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). PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets started 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 raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

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.