Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 11,383 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 438,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,383 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.06% of PPL worth $15,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $785,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,090,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,226,000 after buying an additional 44,557 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in PPL by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 146,777 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,764,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its holdings in PPL by 75.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 246,399 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,998,000 after buying an additional 105,832 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $33.57. 7,825,200 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,973,055. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.24 and a 52 week high of $36.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. PPL's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.80.

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.