IFM Investors Pty Ltd Sells 45,867 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd has reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 21.2%, selling 45,867 shares and leaving it with a total of 170,442 shares worth approximately $6.16 million.
• PPL Corporation reported a net earnings of $0.32 per share for the last quarter, which fell short of analyst expectations by $0.05, despite a 7.7% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.03 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, scheduled for payment on October 1, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.0%.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,867 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in PPL were worth $6,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in PPL by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 27,938,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,008,861,000 after buying an additional 472,979 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in PPL by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 13,062,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $471,756,000 after buying an additional 3,544,282 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in PPL by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,598,814 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $310,503,000 after buying an additional 28,589 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,998,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $288,815,000 after buying an additional 109,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in PPL by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 7,881,695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $284,608,000 after buying an additional 297,999 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.67.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.69. 513,402 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,516,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $36.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.18. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.22 and a twelve month high of $37.38. The company has a market cap of $26.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.67, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. The company'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. Analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. PPL's payout ratio is currently 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.