PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 19.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 356,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 88,174 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $11,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $128,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551,070 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’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 approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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