Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 357,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,800 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $11,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% in 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 grew its position in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after buying an additional 201,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PPL opened at $32.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.