Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,659,576 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 37,627 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of PPL worth $59,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 141.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 121.4% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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 upped their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Three investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.70.

PPL Stock Down 1.7%

PPL stock traded down $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 775,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,966,732. The company has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.15. PPL Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.