BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 31,073 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its holdings in Sempra Energy by 17.5%, selling 31,073 shares, leaving them with 146,680 shares valued at approximately $10.47 million.
• The stock price of Sempra Energy was down 0.7%, opening at $81.27, with a market capitalization of $53.03 billion and a PE ratio of 19.63.
• Sempra Energy reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $0.89, surpassing analyst estimates of $0.82, though revenue was slightly below expectations at $3 billion.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. trimmed its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 17.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,073 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $10,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,584,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,047 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $534,479,000 after purchasing an additional 823,663 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $368,814,000 after purchasing an additional 25,254 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $81.27 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.03 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's fifty day moving average is $77.55 and its 200 day moving average is $75.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. Sempra Energy's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at $3,229,553.80. The trade was a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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.

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