Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Buys Shares of 28,978 PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 28,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $941,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PPL shares. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.90.

PPL Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of PPL traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $34.72. The company had a trading volume of 4,601,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,966,769. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $35.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $27.24 and a 1 year high of $36.70.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

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.