Teacher Retirement System of Texas Reduces Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 42.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 163,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 122,464 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in PPL were worth $5,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th 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. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPL by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.20. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 note on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

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.