AE Wealth Management LLC Buys 162,123 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 2,478.2%, purchasing 162,123 shares in Q4 to hold 168,665 shares worth about $14.89 million.
• Institutional investors own 89.65% of Sempra, with Vanguard holding roughly 75.7 million shares (~$6.81 billion); several large funds (Capital International, State Street, JPMorgan, Invesco) also materially increased positions.
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 per share (annualized $2.63, ~2.8% yield), and analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $101.64.

AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2,478.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 168,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 162,123 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $14,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,725,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,813,784,000 after buying an additional 9,396,652 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 54,071,206 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,865,115,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572,312 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,986,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,148,055,000 after purchasing an additional 606,101 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 106.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,428,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $938,325,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 10,419,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $937,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,984,409 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This represents a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders acquired 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979 and sold 7,539 shares valued at $706,906. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.64.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $94.00 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $94.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.84. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $69.08 and a 1 year high of $101.04. The company has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.29%.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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