Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 23,117 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 306,316 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,117 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in PPL were worth $9,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.52. 8,720,127 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,781,110. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.51 and its 200-day moving average is $33.43. The stock has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.71, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.