ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,832 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 13,822 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $3,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in PPL by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 90,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,940,000 after buying an additional 10,310 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $789,000. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $70,063,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 70,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 3,331 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE PPL opened at $34.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.06. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $27.24 and a 52 week high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. PPL's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PPL. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.90.

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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