PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Zullo Investment Group Inc.

Zullo Investment Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,036 shares during the quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

PPL opened at $34.38 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.87 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.12%.

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.