PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 826 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 74,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 4,272 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $664,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $3,019,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.70.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.08. The firm has a market cap of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.