PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,696 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.8%

PPL stock opened at $34.67 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The firm has a market cap of $25.63 billion, a PE ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.13. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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. Barclays increased their target price 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. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.90.

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.