Bank of New York Mellon Corp Purchases 44,557 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,090,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 44,557 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.69% of PPL worth $165,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in PPL by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $916,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.53 on Friday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.87 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.84. The stock has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a PE ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

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.