Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 444 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lowered its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551,070 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

PPL opened at $34.07 on Monday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.01. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm 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, equities 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.