6,009 Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Bought by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in PPL by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its position in PPL by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $25.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.27.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.