PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Holdings Cut by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 52.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,137 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 215,241 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in PPL were worth $6,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $33.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,053,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,796,659. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.46. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $36.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 3.21%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.27.

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.