MBB Public Markets I LLC Purchases Shares of 9,088 PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 9,088 shares of PPL Corporation, valued at approximately $328,000, in the first quarter.
• Analysts have varied opinions on PPL's stock, with Barclays upgrading it to a strong-buy rating while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to sell.
• PPL announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, with a 3.1% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 81.34%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 3.0% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,422 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 12,998 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $469,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% during 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 during the period. Finally, WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 4.1% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 8,579 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $77,636.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,633,781.60. This trade represents a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.19 on Friday, hitting $36.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,841,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,876,618. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $36.02 and a 200-day moving average of $35.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. PPL Corporation has a twelve month low of $31.22 and a twelve month high of $37.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.65.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%.The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. PPL'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. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's payout ratio is 81.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70.

PPL 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.