PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,060,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,029,231 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 4.34% of PPL worth $1,040,676,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 22.3% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 60,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,006 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,982,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $194,208,000 after buying an additional 148,080 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in PPL by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,406,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,560,000 after buying an additional 41,087 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $36.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.33. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $36.42. 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 released its earnings results 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 business 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%. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

PPL Company 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.