10,688 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Yoffe Investment Management LLC

Yoffe Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 10,688 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $32.79. 1,236,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,779,178. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Corporate 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.