First National Trust Co Decreases Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

First National Trust Co decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.95 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.69 and a 200-day moving average of $33.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, 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.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515. Company 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.