Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $14.63 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 450,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,802 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of PPL worth $14,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.70 on Monday. 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 $35.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. 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, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.