Woodline Partners LP Purchases Shares of 44,318 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 44,318 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,439,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PPL. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.45. The company had a trading volume of 706,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,945,427. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $25.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.14.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.