Investment Management Corp of Ontario Has $4.96 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 524.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 152,711 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 128,240 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in PPL were worth $4,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $35.49 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.18 and a 200-day moving average of $33.96. The firm has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $27.24 and a 12-month high of $36.70. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during 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 business's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. 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. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.90.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

About PPL

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.

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