Royal Bank of Canada Decreases Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,522,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 60,044 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.21% of PPL worth $49,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,677,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $572,300,000 after purchasing an additional 500,058 shares during the last quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $64,842,000 after buying an additional 124,275 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 128.0% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 82,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,641,000 after buying an additional 46,071 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 696,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,608,000 after purchasing an additional 16,188 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.91. 517,478 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,949,628. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $35.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.13. PPL Co. has a one year low of $27.24 and a one year high of $36.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $25.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. PPL's revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PPL. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.90.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.