Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $209.63 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,458,069 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 54,338 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in PPL were worth $209,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,060,000 after acquiring an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after buying an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,254,000 after buying an additional 2,551,070 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL 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 $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $36.21 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.39. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.93 and a 12 month high of $36.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $26.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65.

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 return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

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.