PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Penserra Capital Management LLC

Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 1,264.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,409 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPL by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $572,300,000 after purchasing an additional 500,058 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of PPL by 17.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 11,782 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,105,000 after acquiring an additional 9,503 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 1st quarter worth about $992,000. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $256,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their target price 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 shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.80 on Thursday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $34.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.20. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.29 and a twelve month high of $36.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 company posted $0.54 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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