Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Buys 5,613 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 19,392 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,613 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE’s holdings in PPL were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its stake 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 valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the period. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.93 and a 1 year high of $35.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.28. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.