Royal Fund Management LLC Sells 29,256 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Royal Fund Management LLC lessened its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 46.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,256 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,080,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew 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 last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in PPL by 139.2% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PPL opened at $33.54 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.94. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company has a market capitalization of $24.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.94, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

PPL 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.