Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 127,023 Shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $PCG

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,615,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 127,023 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Pacific Gas & Electric were worth $90,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 49.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 947,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,264,000 after buying an additional 315,133 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 251,260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,789,000 after buying an additional 61,349 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 3,875.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 639,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,280,000 after buying an additional 623,600 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 48,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 34,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $508,000. Institutional investors own 78.56% of the company’s stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Trading Down 4.5%

NYSE:PCG opened at $17.70 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.84 and its 200 day moving average is $16.54. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a 12 month low of $12.97 and a 12 month high of $19.16.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $6.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.05 billion. Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 11.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.05 dividend. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Pacific Gas & Electric’s payout ratio is 16.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pacific Gas & Electric news, EVP John R. Simon sold 45,607 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $820,926.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 392,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,061,454. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 31,786 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.31, for a total transaction of $582,001.66. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 195,091 shares in the company, valued at $3,572,116.21. The trade was a 14.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 84,286 shares of company stock valued at $1,528,746. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PCG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pacific Gas & Electric from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on shares of Pacific Gas & Electric in a report on Friday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

Pacific Gas & Electric Profile

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE: PCG) is an investor-owned utility holding company whose principal operating subsidiary, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, provides electricity and natural gas service in northern and central California. The company’s core activities include the generation, procurement, transmission and distribution of electric power, as well as the transmission and distribution of natural gas. PG&E serves a broad mix of residential, commercial, and industrial customers across urban and rural communities within its California service territory.

PG&E’s operations encompass utility infrastructure planning and construction, grid operations, customer service and energy procurement.