Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 1,475,300 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 67.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,651,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,475,300 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.14% of PG&E worth $63,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PG&E by 2.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 282,332,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,731,888,000 after acquiring an additional 5,635,693 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 126,126,581 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,113,882,000 after buying an additional 2,176,931 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in PG&E by 4.4% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 121,159,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,641,000 after buying an additional 5,066,183 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in PG&E by 17.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 101,910,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,779,352,000 after buying an additional 14,998,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Third Point LLC raised its position in PG&E by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Third Point LLC now owns 57,860,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,043,216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.32, for a total value of $707,170.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 19,114 shares in the company, valued at $350,168.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

PG&E Price Performance

PCG stock opened at $20.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.82 and a 200-day moving average of $17.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.01. PG&E Co. has a 12 month low of $14.71 and a 12 month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.86 billion. PG&E had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 11.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. PG&E’s payout ratio is currently 3.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PCG shares. 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. Bank of America started coverage on PG&E in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on PG&E from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of PG&E from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued 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 $21.45.

PG&E 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.