Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 1,466,866 Shares of PPL Corporation $PPL

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in PPL Corporation by 4.6%, now owning approximately $1.10 billion worth of shares after selling 1.47 million shares in the first quarter.
• PPL Corporation's quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $0.32, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.37, despite a revenue increase of 7.7% year-over-year.
• Research analysts are generally optimistic about PPL, with a current average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.70 for the stock.

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its holdings in PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,593,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,466,866 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 4.14% of PPL worth $1,104,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 613.8% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 122,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,985,000 after acquiring an additional 105,574 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in PPL by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 46,606 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 2,805 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in PPL by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $328,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in PPL by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 4,216 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.5%

PPL stock traded up $0.1740 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $36.8940. The company had a trading volume of 3,406,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,647,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.95. The company has a market capitalization of $27.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. PPL Corporation has a 52 week low of $31.22 and a 52 week high of $37.38.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. PPL's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.34%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 2,165 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays raised PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised PPL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price 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.