PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 613.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 105,574 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $3,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its holdings in PPL by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business'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 directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.70.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $36.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $26.79 and a 1-year high of $36.64. The business's fifty day moving average price is $34.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.61.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, 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 issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 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.

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