Hartford Investment Management Co. Decreases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 881 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth approximately $916,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.85 and a 200 day moving average of $32.53. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. 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. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

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.