NEOS Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 42,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,950 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,275,000 after buying an additional 201,417 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $35.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.29. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $35.97. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG 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.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

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.