Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 24,279 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 222,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,279 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in PPL were worth $8,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norinchukin Bank The increased its holdings in PPL by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 28,002 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 11,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in PPL by 5.0% in the first quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,043 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $33.57. 7,825,200 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,979,801. The stock has a market cap of $24.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. PPL Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.24 and a 12-month high of $36.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 11.49%. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% 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. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.