PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 210,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,264 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.27.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.23 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.28. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’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 owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.