Bayesian Capital Management LP Decreases Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bayesian Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 81.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 30,100 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP's holdings in PPL were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in PPL by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $411,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,371,000 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 12,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 8,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 1,663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in PPL by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 230,784 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,491,000 after buying an additional 30,345 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on PPL shares. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of PPL traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.49. 4,788,057 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,909,014. 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 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.97. The company has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

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.