PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stake Boosted by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

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

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PPL. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of PPL by 8,266.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $309,060,000 after purchasing an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $228,509,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $147,480,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of PPL by 182.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,951,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $128,254,000 after buying an additional 2,551,070 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PPL from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,411,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,981,340. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $34.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.16. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64.

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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

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.