25,619 Shares in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Purchased by Aspire Private Capital LLC

Aspire Private Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 25,619 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,060,000 after buying an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $147,480,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,532,000 after purchasing an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $128,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,551,070 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.2%

PPL stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.22. The stock had a trading volume of 4,888,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,962,339. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

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.