Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 13,776 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 58.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,776 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,509,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $891,532,000 after acquiring an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,063,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in 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 worth $411,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,371,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of PPL stock opened at $35.64 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.49 and a 1 year high of $36.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.30.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion during 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 company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

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.

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