Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Invests $1.02 Million in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 31,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,020,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% during 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. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.41.

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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.