Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,104 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $209,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 68,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,212,000 after acquiring an additional 16,703 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 45,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Four 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.22.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.