Howard Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 131,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,997 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at $916,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.73. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 85.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.