Cresset Asset Management LLC Has $7.93 Million Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cresset Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 16.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,491 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 46,724 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $7,931,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 11.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 882,453 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 52,547 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in PPL by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 57,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 6,360 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in PPL by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 40,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 11,343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,454 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. StockNews.com raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.90.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This trade represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,788,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,909,014. PPL Co. has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $36.70. The company has a market cap 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. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.96. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

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.