PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Position Trimmed by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP trimmed its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 52.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 192,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 215,241 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd 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 stake in PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.48 on Friday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $36.64. 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 50-day moving average of $34.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.41. The company has a market capitalization of $25.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is 90.08%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

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.