Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sei Investments Co. increased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 443,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,456 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.06% of PPL worth $14,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 43.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in PPL during the third quarter valued at about $75,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of PPL by 109.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after acquiring an additional 63,218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,361,000 after acquiring an additional 8,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.28. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.97.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, 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 value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Company 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.