Norges Bank Invests $228.51 Million in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,039,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $228,509,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.95% of PPL at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the third 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 during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased 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 worth $4,004,000 after acquiring an additional 63,218 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.70 on Monday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results 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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL 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.