Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $14.64 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 450,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,656 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PPL were worth $14,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 36,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Monday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50 day moving average is $32.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.59. The company has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. 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.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Company 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.