Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Reduces Stock Position in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,339 shares during the quarter. PPL makes up approximately 2.9% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings in PPL were worth $4,538,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 1,767 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.98, for a total value of $61,809.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,591,065.30. This trade represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $33.64. 4,750,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,961,645. PPL Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.24 and a 12 month high of $36.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.12. The company has a market capitalization of $24.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.80.

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.