NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $1.37 Million Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,950 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 43.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after buying an additional 11,089 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in PPL by 109.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 63,218 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,361,000 after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.0% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $35.70 on Friday. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $34.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.