ClearBridge Investments Ltd Sells 236,596 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd trimmed its position in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,981,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 236,596 shares during the quarter. PG&E makes up 3.6% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.27% of PG&E worth $121,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in PG&E during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 84.7% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,011 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 77.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of PG&E in the second quarter worth $44,000. 78.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America assumed coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PG&E from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.45.

PG&E Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PCG opened at $20.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.88. PG&E Co. has a 12-month low of $14.71 and a 12-month high of $20.65.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. PG&E had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 10.22%. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.86 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.01 per share. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s payout ratio is 3.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PG&E news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total transaction of $707,170.32. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,168.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PG&E Company Profile

PG&E Corporation, through its subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, engages in the sale and delivery of electricity and natural gas to customers in northern and central California, the United States. It generates electricity using nuclear, hydroelectric, fossil fuel-fired, fuel cell, and photovoltaic sources.