Sandy Spring Bank Sells 711 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sandy Spring Bank trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 711 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in PPL were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Boston Partners increased its holdings in PPL by 8,266.9% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 182.2% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after buying an additional 2,551,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

PPL stock opened at $34.78 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $33.99 and a 200 day moving average of $33.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91. 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) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Four 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.