Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,800 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 39,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Portfolio Design Labs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 102,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,343,000 after purchasing an additional 33,088 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $600,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in PPL by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 17,199 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $558,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.76 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.14, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.