Invesco Ltd. Purchases 3,380,745 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Invesco Ltd. raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,380,745 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 3.72% of PPL worth $891,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.27.

PPL Stock Down 2.7 %

PPL stock opened at $33.52 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $36.64. The company has a market cap of $24.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $34.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.43.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

PPL Company 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.