Strategic Investment Advisors MI Buys New Stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI purchased a new position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $486,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 19,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 2,215 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,090,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,226,000 after purchasing an additional 44,557 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 146,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,764,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related 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 transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:PPL opened at $33.54 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average is $34.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation 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 results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The business's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted 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 upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

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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