MKT Advisors LLC Has $651,000 Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

MKT Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. MKT Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,461,000 after buying an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.4 %

PPL stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.03. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. 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 price objective for the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.