Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Sells 14,670 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 67.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,670 shares during the quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after buying an additional 2,551,070 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the third 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. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.95 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $25.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.10. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, 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 value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 a total of 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PPL. Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. 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 for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

PPL 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.