PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,804 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in PPL were worth $11,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,631,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 160,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,208,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $261,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in PPL by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 86,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,797,000 after acquiring an additional 9,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 24,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim raised their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.76. 2,411,936 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,977,759. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.24 and a 1 year high of $36.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

PPL Company 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.