PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Raleigh Capital Management Inc.

Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 30.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,843 shares during the quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in PPL were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,845,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,958,158. The stock has a market cap of $24.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.29 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70. The company's 50 day moving average is $34.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.20.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PPL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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 assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

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.