PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $33.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.08 and a 200-day moving average of $31.84. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The firm has a market cap of $24.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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 upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.