Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda Acquires Shares of 93,000 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 93,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,019,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 6.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 882,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,192,000 after buying an additional 52,547 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $994,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of PPL by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. XML Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.70.

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PPL Stock Up 0.1 %

PPL stock opened at $34.31 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $33.57 and its 200-day moving average is $33.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91. 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 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio 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.

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