Bank of New York Mellon Corp Raises Stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,121,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,110 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.69% of PPL worth $184,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,981,760,000 after buying an additional 750,033 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the fourth 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 raised its stake in shares of PPL by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $411,347,000 after buying an additional 1,371,000 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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 issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL traded down $0.05 during trading hours 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.93 and a 52 week high of $36.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.39, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.74%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Company 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.