Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Buys New Shares in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

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

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 2,070,499 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPL by 2.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $411,347,000 after buying an additional 1,371,000 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PPL traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.42. 1,069,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,408,459. The company's fifty day moving average is $35.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70. The stock has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.