Sanctuary Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 113,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after buying an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% in 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 buying an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $1,218,000. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $916,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after buying an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $33.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.71. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.