Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 33.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 60,392 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in PPL during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the 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 directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of PPL opened at $33.48 on Friday. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15. The company has a market capitalization of $24.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.17. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

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.