PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 9.4% during the first quarter, now holding 94,242 shares valued at approximately $3.40 million.
• Wall Street analysts have varying ratings for PPL, with Guggenheim boosting the price target from $38.00 to $40.00, indicating a positive sentiment in the market.
• PPL announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $1.09, with a yield of 3.0% and a payout ratio of 81.34%.

US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 94,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,065 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in PPL were worth $3,403,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in PPL by 17.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,824,000 after buying an additional 11,782 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in PPL by 9.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,438,000 after acquiring an additional 250,564 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in PPL by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in PPL in the 1st quarter worth about $992,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in PPL by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Barclays upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.34. 4,320,684 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,052,047. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. PPL Corporation has a 52-week low of $29.97 and a 52-week high of $36.99. The company's 50-day moving average price is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.68. The company has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.64.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by 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.