Cibc World Markets Corp Has $3.78 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cibc World Markets Corp grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 116,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,285 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in PPL by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.70.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This 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 have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.01 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.16. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.93, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.