First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Has $550,000 Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown decreased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in PPL were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.15. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 85.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.