Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 444 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC reduced its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, 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 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE PPL opened at $34.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.49 and a 200-day moving average of $33.01. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

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.