PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 450,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,802 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of PPL worth $14,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $566,275,000 after purchasing an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % 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 worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Trading Down 4.8 %

PPL traded down $1.75 on Friday, reaching $34.48. 8,277,307 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,764,555. The company has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. 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 twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The company's 50 day moving average is $34.51 and its 200-day moving average is $33.41.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase 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 3.16%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PPL. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note 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. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.27.

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.