PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,491 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in shares of PPL by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $221,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lifted its position in PPL by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE PPL opened at $36.19 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $26.79 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The company has a market capitalization of $26.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.61. 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 (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PPL. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.70.

PPL 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.