Tower Wealth Partners Inc. Trims Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. PPL accounts for about 0.6% of Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL opened at $34.07 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.49 and its 200 day moving average is $33.01. 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 fifty-two week low of $25.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase 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%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.