ClearBridge Investments Ltd Has $150.98 Million Stake in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd raised its position in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,481,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 680,916 shares during the period. PG&E makes up approximately 4.0% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s holdings in PG&E were worth $150,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,358,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,132,964,000 after acquiring an additional 6,151,233 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in PG&E by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 108,953,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,155,093,000 after buying an additional 5,191,463 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PG&E by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,837,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $981,960,000 after buying an additional 536,914 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in PG&E by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 30,255,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,142,000 after buying an additional 1,822,835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in PG&E during the fourth quarter valued at about $591,625,000. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

PG&E Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of PCG opened at $16.98 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.68. The stock has a market cap of $45.35 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. PG&E Co. has a 1 year low of $14.99 and a 1 year high of $21.72.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31. PG&E had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $6.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.025 dividend. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $19.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 target price on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim downgraded shares of PG&E from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on PG&E from $16.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.05.

PG&E 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.