PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,675 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,847 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $8,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners grew its stake in PPL by 8,266.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $35.56. The stock had a trading volume of 719,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,802,420. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.51.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for 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%. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL 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. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on 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, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.70.

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.