Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 292,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 42,972 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in PPL were worth $9,491,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $566,275,000 after buying an additional 201,417 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Four equities research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $35.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of PPL traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.48. 8,277,307 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,764,555. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month 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. The company's fifty day moving average price is $34.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.41. The company has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

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.