HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 1,520 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,897 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,520 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $35.01 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.