Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Sells 72,785 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lowered its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 52.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 72,785 shares during the period. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.'s holdings in PPL were worth $2,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in PPL by 121.4% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Up 1.7%

PPL stock traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $34.33. The stock had a trading volume of 4,275,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,962,364. The company has a market capitalization of $25.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $34.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.12. PPL Corporation has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $36.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is presently 80.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPL. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $36.80.

About PPL

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.