PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 210,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,264 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup upped their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE PPL opened at $35.23 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.29 and a 200-day moving average of $32.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $35.28. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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 a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % 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 valued at $346,657. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company 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.