Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 3,444 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,491 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,444 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.27.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.49 and its 200 day moving average is $32.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.