GAMMA Investing LLC Has $29.01 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 4,095.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 803,375 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 784,227 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.11% of PPL worth $29,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,981,760,000 after purchasing an additional 750,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,195,484,000 after buying an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 14.0% during the 4th 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in PPL by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $411,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,000 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.04. 3,221,912 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,946,386. 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 stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $35.09 and a 200 day moving average of $34.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. 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 firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. PPL's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted 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. Barclays increased their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

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.