PPL Corporation $PPL Shares Purchased by Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC

Key Points

• Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 23.4%, owning 2,465,342 shares worth approximately $89 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• PPL has received mixed ratings from analysts, with consensus ratings of "Buy" and a target price set at $36.70, as brokerages like Barclays upgraded it to a "strong-buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725, yielding approximately 3.0%, with a payout ratio of 81.34% as it prepares to payout on October 1st.

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,465,342 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 467,732 shares during the period. PPL comprises 1.4% of Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC owned about 0.33% of PPL worth $89,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,647,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $85,942,000 after buying an additional 69,720 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 112,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,642,000 after buying an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in PPL by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 733,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,804,000 after buying an additional 62,172 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,882,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,037,000 after buying an additional 336,670 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,628,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,622,335. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $35.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.59. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $37.38.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.34%.

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.