Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys New Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 31,417 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,020,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 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 value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $34.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,530,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,799,997. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.57 and a 200-day moving average of $33.47. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The company has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.