KCM Investment Advisors LLC Sells 3,556 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,556 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in PPL by 7.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 35,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $386,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPL by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 160,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,305,000 after buying an additional 13,169 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in PPL by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 24,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $810,000 after acquiring an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in PPL by 1,087.0% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 281,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,304,000 after acquiring an additional 257,559 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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 raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of PPL opened at $34.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.41. The company has a market cap of $25.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $36.64. 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 announced 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s 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 $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.