GAM Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,437,000.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Sempra Energy Price Performance
Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $74.09 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.71. The company has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57.
Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.
Insider Activity at Sempra Energy
In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.83.
Check Out Our Latest Report on SRE
About Sempra Energy
(
Free Report)
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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