RKL Wealth Management LLC Acquires 13,348 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 203.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,348 shares during the period. RKL Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 27,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $1,277,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $147,480,000. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $943,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 214,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,956,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPL. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.27.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.