BLB&B Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

BLB&B Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,373 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.02%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

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.