16,088 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Palacios Wealth Management LLC

Palacios Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of PPL by 322.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after purchasing an additional 933,723 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5,390.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,625,000 after purchasing an additional 552,760 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPL. Bank of America boosted their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

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

PPL Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.85 and its 200 day moving average is $32.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

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.