PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,583,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 591,886 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 1.03% of PPL worth $246,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 579 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 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 $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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PPL Stock Down 4.8 %

PPL stock traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $34.48. 8,277,307 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,765,354. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.41. The firm has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G 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.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. 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 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.27.

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.