M&T Bank Corp Acquires 17,869 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,351 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,869 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in PPL were worth $3,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $228,509,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in PPL by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,063,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $34.28. 2,934,401 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,939,624. The company has a market cap of $25.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.64. 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's 50 day moving average price is $34.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.22. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.93 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PPL. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

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.