Czech National Bank Has $6.12 Million Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Czech National Bank grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 169,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,501 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in PPL were worth $6,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,230,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.15 on Thursday, hitting $34.03. The company had a trading volume of 3,536,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,951,703. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $27.24 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

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.