704,118 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 704,118 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,856,000. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.10% of PPL at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in PPL by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 137,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,470,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $320,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 420.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 375,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,175,000 after buying an additional 302,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 6,987,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $226,811,000 after acquiring an additional 188,500 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted 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. UBS Group raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.70.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,110,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,828,178. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $34.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $26.68 and a twelve month 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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

About PPL

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.