Ascent Group LLC Raises Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 31.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,392 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $2,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in PPL by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. Three investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.90.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE PPL traded up $0.16 on Thursday, reaching $34.34. 4,668,748 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,961,738. The business's fifty day moving average price is $35.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.