HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Boosts Stock Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 372 shares during the quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norinchukin Bank The increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $909,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 3.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $192,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.80.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $33.54 on Thursday. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.24 and a 1 year high of $36.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.84, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. 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 3.25%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.