Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 36,313 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 232,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,313 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $8,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $572,300,000 after acquiring an additional 500,058 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in PPL by 17.5% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,824,000 after acquiring an additional 11,782 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 9.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,438,000 after buying an additional 250,564 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 45.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 9,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in PPL during the first quarter worth about $992,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Up 1.4%

PPL stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $35.64. The stock had a trading volume of 6,667,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,085,259. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $34.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.28. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.49 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.34 billion, a P/E 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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. 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal 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 $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.