Haverford Trust Co Purchases 4,743 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Haverford Trust Co grew its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 40.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,509 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,743 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in PPL were worth $536,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $585,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 43.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 2.6% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $884,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 110,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 15,576 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,218,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $34.10 and a 200 day moving average of $33.24.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

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.