Penserra Capital Management LLC Acquires 24,409 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 1,264.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund 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 SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in PPL by 8,266.9% in the 4th 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 bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $228,509,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $70,063,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,934,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,939,624. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.23. The stock has a market capitalization 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.93 and a 12 month high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. PPL's payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.