Palacios Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Palacios Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 16,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. 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 valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PPL by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.15. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.53. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.