LPL Financial LLC Acquires 170,678 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 30.7%, acquiring an additional 170,678 shares, bringing its total ownership to 726,788 shares valued at approximately $51.86 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock showed a market capitalization of $53.22 billion and has a current P/E ratio of 17.94, with shares recently priced at $81.64.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, yielding 3.2% annually, with a payout ratio of 56.70%.

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 726,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 170,678 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.11% of Sempra Energy worth $51,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $81.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $76.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.85. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRE. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Sempra Energy 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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