PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Grandview Asset Management LLC

Grandview Asset Management LLC increased its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 165,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 524 shares during the period. PPL comprises 2.3% of Grandview Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Grandview Asset Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 500,058 shares during the period. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 128.0% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after purchasing an additional 46,071 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in PPL by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,608,000 after buying an additional 16,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.90.

PPL Trading Down 0.7%

PPL opened at $33.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.24 and a 12-month high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. 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 3.26%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% 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.