Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Decreases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 53.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,021 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,610 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in PPL by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 214,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,956,000 after buying an additional 2,927 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,631,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC boosted its position in PPL by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,842,000 after buying an additional 124,275 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in PPL by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 72,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,346,000 after buying an additional 4,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 32,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.00. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

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.