Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases New Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 128,633 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,175,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.03. The stock had a trading volume of 3,536,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,953,283. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.17. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $27.24 and a twelve month high of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PPL shares. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% 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.