Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 74,600 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Key Points

• Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in PPL Corporation by 46.5%, selling 74,600 shares during the first quarter, leaving it with 85,842 shares valued at around $3.1 million.
• PPL Corporation reported a miss in EPS with $0.32 for the quarter, below the consensus estimate of $0.37, but its revenue increased 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2725 per share, representing a 3.0% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 81.34%.

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 46.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 74,600 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $3,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in PPL by 141.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in PPL by 1,057.6% during the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in PPL by 121.4% in the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the first quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $36.86. The stock had a trading volume of 11,960,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,207,647. 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 12 month low of $30.76 and a 12 month high of $36.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.26 billion, a PE ratio of 27.50, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.77.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a return on equity of 8.81% and a net margin of 11.22%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is currently 81.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on PPL shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim raised their price target on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

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.