Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 1,175 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 88,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in PPL by 141.0% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 94.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 1,057.6% during the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PPL. Guggenheim raised their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.70.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Down 0.9%

PPL opened at $36.50 on Thursday. 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 1-year low of $28.90 and a 1-year high of $36.99. The company has a market capitalization of $26.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.41.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.