National Pension Service Sells 16,658 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

National Pension Service cut its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,089,815 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,658 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in PPL were worth $39,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in PPL by 3,584.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,773,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,154,975,000 after acquiring an additional 30,911,313 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth $187,326,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 4,424,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,957,000 after purchasing an additional 88,531 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,157,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,787,000 after purchasing an additional 208,820 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of PPL by 23.7% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,056,733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,762,000 after purchasing an additional 393,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Ashley Johnson sold 34,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.08, for a total transaction of $772,645.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 561,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,397,522.56. This trade represents a 5.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kristen Robinson sold 37,107 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.05, for a total value of $929,530.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 222,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,569.85. The trade was a 14.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.11 on Friday. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $33.17 and a twelve month high of $40.10. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $35.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.56. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.01). PPL had a net margin of 13.47% and a return on equity of 9.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.900-1.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America reduced their price target on PPL from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on PPL from $48.00 to $44.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Evercore set a $42.00 price objective on PPL in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on PPL from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

About PPL

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) is an energy and utility holding company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, the company delivers electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers, while also operating and maintaining generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure.

PPL’s Pennsylvania operations are conducted through PPL Electric Utilities, which provides electric delivery service across much of central and eastern Pennsylvania.