Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Acquires 6,125 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 216,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,125 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $7,835,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in PPL by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in PPL by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its stake in PPL by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,043 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in PPL by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other PPL 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PPL. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.80.

PPL Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE PPL opened at $34.22 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.86 and a 200-day moving average of $34.12.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

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.