PPL Corporation $PPL Shares Acquired by Cresset Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in PPL Corporation by 5.4% during the first quarter, now holding 255,608 shares valued at approximately $9.3 million.
• PPL reported $0.32 EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates of $0.37, while revenue increased by 7.7% year-over-year to $2.03 billion.
• Institutional investors own 76.99% of PPL's stock, with numerous firms, including Renaissance Technologies LLC and Rockefeller Capital Management, significantly increasing their positions recently.

Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 5.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 255,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,117 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in PPL were worth $9,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 17.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 79,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,824,000 after purchasing an additional 11,782 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 9.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,975,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $107,438,000 after purchasing an additional 250,564 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 45.0% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 9,503 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 13.7% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 9,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL in the first quarter worth about $992,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of PPL traded up $0.1740 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $36.8940. 2,030,027 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,637,972. PPL Corporation has a 1-year low of $31.22 and a 1-year high of $37.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a PE ratio of 27.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $35.20 and a 200 day moving average of $34.95.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.05). PPL had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 8.81%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. PPL has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.750-1.870 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Corporation will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were 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 directly owned 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,633,781.60. The trade was a 4.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PPL. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $36.70.

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.