Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda Invests $3.02 Million in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 93,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,019,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.31 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.