Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 75.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,832 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in PPL were worth $7,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth about $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at about $916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.86 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.82. The stock has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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, Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

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.