International Assets Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

International Assets Investment Management LLC cut its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 97.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 205,995 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL traded up $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.03. 1,601,432 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,382,762. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.75. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $23.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 91.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.09.

PPL Company 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.