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Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 152,963 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

PPL logo with Utilities background

Key Points

  • Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. has increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 13.0%, owning approximately 1,332,267 shares valued at about $48.1 million.
  • Recent analyst ratings for PPL include a downgrade from Morgan Stanley, while Guggenheim raised its price target from $38.00 to $40.00, indicating a positive outlook.
  • PPL Corporation reported $0.32 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, but revenues increased by 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.
  • Looking to export and analyze PPL data? Unlock 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for Just $5. Claim Your Limited-Time Discount.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 13.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,332,267 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 152,963 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of PPL worth $48,108,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,298 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 98,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 613.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 122,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,985,000 after acquiring an additional 105,574 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 11,570 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PPL traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $37.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,873,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,583,757. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.87 and a 200 day moving average of $34.80. The company has a market cap of $27.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $30.76 and a 1 year high of $37.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PPL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Guggenheim upped their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on PPL

About PPL

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for PPL (NYSE:PPL)

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