PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock Position Lifted by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,888 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 9,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Stolper Co raised its stake in PPL by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Stolper Co now owns 53,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 47.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 5,784 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.27 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

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.