Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Reduces Holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,419 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,325 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.06% of PPL worth $15,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 6.1% in the first quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 28,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 11,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter valued at $218,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,953 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 29.1% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 20,958 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 4,726 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.75. The company had a trading volume of 6,187,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,965,130. The company has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.65. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.11.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. PPL's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.