6,407 Shares in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Bought by Bridgewater Advisors Inc.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $483,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Argus lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays set a $71.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:SRE traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $75.24. The stock had a trading volume of 3,596,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,875,565. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $49.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $75.88 and its 200-day moving average is $76.19.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Sempra California, Sempra Texas Utilities, and Sempra Infrastructure. The Sempra California segment provides electric services; and natural gas services to San Diego County.