Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 29,048 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 29,048 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $943,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 882,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,192,000 after buying an additional 52,547 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 2.8% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 23.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.70.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated 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 $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.00. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

About PPL

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.