ClearBridge Investments Ltd Boosts Stock Position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd grew its position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,481,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 680,916 shares during the quarter. PG&E accounts for 4.0% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned about 0.29% of PG&E worth $150,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PCG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in PG&E by 3.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,475,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,175,000 after acquiring an additional 55,236 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of PG&E by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 20,992 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 2,878 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of PG&E by 13.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,572,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $307,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,690 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in PG&E by 143.5% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 45,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 26,887 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in PG&E by 3.5% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 27,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $544,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

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PG&E Stock Performance

PG&E stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.42. 28,626,345 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,927,000. PG&E Co. has a 1 year low of $14.99 and a 1 year high of $21.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $16.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.64.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.31. The company had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. PG&E's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PG&E

In other news, Director Arno Lockheart Harris bought 6,389 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $15.66 per share, for a total transaction of $100,051.74. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $232,770.24. This trade represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.37, for a total transaction of $532,368.77. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $22.00 price target on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on PG&E from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim cut shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.05.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.