The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Holdings in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in PG&E Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 12.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,420,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 160,465 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in PG&E were worth $24,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PCG. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PG&E by 3.5% during the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PG&E by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 22,458 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of PG&E by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 4,900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PG&E by 14.5% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in PG&E by 8.0% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the period. 78.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PG&E

In related news, VP Stephanie N. Williams sold 38,601 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PCG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on PG&E from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of PG&E from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PG&E from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on PG&E from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on PG&E in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.55.

PG&E Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PCG stock opened at $19.84 on Wednesday. PG&E Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.71 and a fifty-two week high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $19.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.01.

PG&E (NYSE:PCG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by $0.01. The company 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%. PG&E’s quarterly revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.23 EPS. Research analysts expect that PG&E Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PG&E Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. PG&E’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.57%.

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.