PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 68.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,868 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in 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. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 have sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.85. The company had a trading volume of 1,996,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,604,232. The company has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.96. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.91. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.