Korea Investment CORP Purchases 3,903 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 561,888 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of PPL worth $18,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 43.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in PPL by 109.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 63,218 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,361,000 after buying an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,262,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

PPL Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.23 and a 200 day moving average of $33.29. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

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.