Federated Hermes Inc. Has $256.08 Million Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,889,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 65,567 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 1.07% of PPL worth $256,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $64,842,000 after buying an additional 124,275 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,608,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 10,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPL Stock Up 1.2 %

PPL stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,530,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,799,997. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $36.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $25.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Barclays raised 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. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.