PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Position Boosted by Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC

Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 69.0% during 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. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.95 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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 return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

PPL Profile

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.