Summit Financial LLC Sells 1,700 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Summit Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,787 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in PPL by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $309,060,000 after acquiring an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,480,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in PPL by 12.0% in 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 during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $36.18 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.37. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $36.42. The firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective 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 increased their target price on shares of 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 started coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL 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.