PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in PPL by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PPL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.84. The company has a market capitalization of $24.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

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.