SVB Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 8,044 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted 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 valued at $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.27.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.90. The company had a trading volume of 4,846,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,673,646. The stock has a market cap of $25.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.96. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 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 analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

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.