Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC Makes New $1.02 Million Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 30,299 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,022,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in PPL by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 68,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,214,000 after purchasing an additional 16,392 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 11,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674 shares in the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 27,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $1,439,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC boosted its position in PPL by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,398 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 2,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.90.

PPL Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of PPL traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $34.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,341,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,947,764. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $27.24 and a 52-week high of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.14.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.