BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 21,953 Shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its stake in shares of PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,883 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,953 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in PG&E were worth $2,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PG&E during the 4th quarter worth about $591,625,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of PG&E by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 46,805,768 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $944,540,000 after purchasing an additional 19,317,171 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,358,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,132,964,000 after purchasing an additional 6,151,233 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in PG&E by 244.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,706,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $95,066,000 after purchasing an additional 3,340,599 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PG&E by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 51,988,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,046,462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151,494 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PG&E Stock Performance

PCG traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.14. 10,347,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,424,792. PG&E Co. has a one year low of $14.99 and a one year high of $21.72. The stock's fifty day moving average is $16.68 and its 200 day moving average is $18.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. The firm has a market cap of $45.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.70.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by ($0.07). PG&E had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.23 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that PG&E Co. will post 1.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. PG&E's payout ratio is presently 9.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,521 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 183,635 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,006,104.95. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arno Lockheart Harris acquired 6,389 shares of PG&E stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.66 per share, with a total value of $100,051.74. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 14,864 shares in the company, valued at $232,770.24. This represents a 75.39 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered shares of PG&E from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $19.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of PG&E from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of PG&E in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut their target price on PG&E from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on PG&E from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.32.

About PG&E

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.