PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,895,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 69,001 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.26% of PPL worth $61,517,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 72.8% in the fourth quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 531,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,258,000 after purchasing an additional 223,907 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 344,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,170,000 after buying an additional 4,722 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 4,216 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 595,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $19,334,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $22,856,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 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 value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE PPL opened at $36.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.61. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $26.79 and a 52-week high of $36.64. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.70.

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.

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