PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,012 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in PPL were worth $13,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,859,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,981,760,000 after acquiring an additional 750,033 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,829,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,195,484,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070,499 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in PPL by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,465,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $891,532,000 after buying an additional 3,380,745 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in PPL by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 500,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in PPL by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,672,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $411,347,000 after buying an additional 1,371,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Down 0.2%

PPL opened at $34.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $35.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $25.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PPL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.90.

Insider Activity

In other PPL 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% 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.