Insider Selling: PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Insider Sells 1,146 Shares of Stock

PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $33.90. 4,846,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,673,646. The company has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Institutional Trading of PPL

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $34.27.

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.