PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,090,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 44,557 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.69% of PPL worth $165,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.27.

PPL Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:PPL traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $35.67. 2,586,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,518,634. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.89. The firm has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL 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.