PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Position Boosted by Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 20.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position 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 during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 2.1 %

NYSE PPL opened at $35.70 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $34.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

PPL Company 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.