Bangor Savings Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bangor Savings Bank lowered its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 521 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank’s holdings in PPL were worth $51,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PPL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.01 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $33.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.64. The firm has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

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.