Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Makes New $174,000 Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $174,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 882,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,547 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,454 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in PPL by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 160,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 9,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position in PPL by 576.0% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $35.49 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average of $33.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $36.90.

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.