Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $8 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 75.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 105,832 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in PPL were worth $7,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in PPL by 322.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $15,668,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PPL traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $35.23. The company had a trading volume of 4,565,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,583,561. The company has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.28.

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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.