PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC cut its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $916,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $34.21 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $32.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $25.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.60 and a 1-year high of $35.15.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid 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 yield of 3.01%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 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 shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.