Essential Planning LLC. Invests $664,000 in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Essential Planning LLC. bought a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.70.

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PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.15 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.06. The company has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. 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.

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