Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 43,508 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has increased its holdings in PPL Corporation by 33.8%, now owning 172,141 shares valued at approximately $6.2 million.
• PPL Corporation recently reported earnings of $0.60 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating an 8.7% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.98%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 172,141 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 43,508 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in PPL were worth $6,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at $228,509,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PPL by 14.0% during the fourth 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. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $70,063,000. 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 worth $1,195,484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,371,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

PPL Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE PPL traded down $0.81 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.76. 5,876,639 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,395,307. The firm has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $29.35 and a 12-month high of $36.99.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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 directly owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.