New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 15,200 Shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 298,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,200 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in PPL were worth $10,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in PPL by 141.0% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in PPL by 1,057.6% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 984 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 899 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in PPL by 121.4% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 867 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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 shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. 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. Finally, Barclays raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $36.70.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.98. 7,251,634 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,102,219. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.34. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $28.62 and a 1-year high of $36.70. The company has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is currently 80.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total transaction of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 45,485 shares in the company, valued at $1,591,065.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.