PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 338,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,293 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in PPL were worth $10,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in PPL by 195.5% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL opened at $34.17 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.87 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $32.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.64. The company has a market cap of $25.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted 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 return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on PPL shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

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.