Leelyn Smith LLC Has $2.63 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Leelyn Smith LLC lowered its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 534 shares during the quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in PPL by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 116,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after acquiring an additional 16,285 shares during the last quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of PPL by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Arbor Capital Management Inc. ADV now owns 47,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,565,000 after acquiring an additional 5,202 shares during the period. Ninepoint Partners LP increased its stake in shares of PPL by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Ninepoint Partners LP now owns 38,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 5,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 73,819 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,396,000 after purchasing an additional 5,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value 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. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.12. The firm has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

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.