PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) Stock Holdings Lowered by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 50.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 41,116 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in PPL by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $572,300,000 after buying an additional 500,058 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in PPL by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,824,000 after buying an additional 11,782 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in PPL by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 9,503 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL during the 1st quarter worth $992,000. Finally, Aviso Wealth Management purchased a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.59. 3,952,449 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,192,477. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $36.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.21. 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 (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) 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 business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 9.14%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PPL. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of PPL from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

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.