New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 25,500 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 313,251 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in PPL were worth $10,168,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 36,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.78. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.87 and a twelve month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % 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 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About PPL

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.