Amundi Increases Stock Position in PPL Corporation $PPL

Amundi increased its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 441,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 43,134 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.06% of PPL worth $15,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.7% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,008,861,000 after purchasing an additional 472,979 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 37.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $471,756,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544,282 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,503,000 after purchasing an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 1.4% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,815,000 after purchasing an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,121,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $184,928,000 after purchasing an additional 31,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $36.17. 2,841,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,876,618. PPL Corporation has a 1 year low of $31.22 and a 1 year high of $37.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock's 50 day moving average is $36.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total transaction of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

PPL Company 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.