Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 21,066 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Corient Private Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 274,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,066 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $8,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $273,000. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 158,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,241,000 after purchasing an additional 5,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in shares of PPL by 13.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 34,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 4,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the 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 $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.17. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PPL. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.20.

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.