Crestline Management LP Sells 176,527 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Crestline Management LP trimmed its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 293,377 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 176,527 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP's holdings in PPL were worth $9,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in PPL by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The raised its holdings in PPL by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in PPL by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. increased its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $35.49. The stock had a trading volume of 4,788,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,917,367. 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 company has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $35.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.96. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $27.24 and a 1-year high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. PPL's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim upped their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.90.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.