Aviso Wealth Management Makes New $256,000 Investment in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 7,896 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its position in PPL by 8,266.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 182.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,551,070 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % 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. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $34.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.24.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.