M&T Bank Corp Acquires 4,416 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 86,593 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,416 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 9.5% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 182,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,304,000 after purchasing an additional 15,866 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 14,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 3,674 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in PPL by 16.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 190,136 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,480,000 after acquiring an additional 27,142 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.2% during the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 255,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of PPL by 8.0% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 19,382 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $28.52 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $27.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.51. The company has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $28.92.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.27.

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.