Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 212,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,389 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $15,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $772,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 4.6% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,152 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. TKG Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 13.4% in the first quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 3,208 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,677,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $119,722,000 after buying an additional 73,932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy during the first quarter valued at $16,813,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.83.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,972,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,869,530. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.25 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.63. The company's fifty day moving average is $75.97 and its 200 day moving average is $76.87. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

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.