Silver Oak Securities Incorporated Purchases Shares of 6,345 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew 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 valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % 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, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’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 value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PPL. Barclays reduced their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.46, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.42.

PPL Announces Dividend

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

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.