Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,179,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 77,071 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PPL were worth $38,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

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.