Invesco Ltd. Has $1.01 Billion Stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 1.7%, now owning 27,938,545 shares valued at approximately $1.01 billion, marking a significant investment in the utilities provider.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings for PPL, with Guggenheim raising its target price to $40.00 and Barclays giving it a “strong-buy” rating.
• PPL announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, yielding around 3.0%, and reported earnings of $0.32 per share, missing consensus estimates.

Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 472,979 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 3.78% of PPL worth $1,008,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.12. 9,394,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,095,387. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $30.76 and a fifty-two week high of $37.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $34.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.83. The company has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% 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.