Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 81.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 52,847 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $286,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $326,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 160,842 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $1.36 on Wednesday, reaching $74.82. The company had a trading volume of 3,303,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,866,685. The company's fifty day moving average is $75.90 and its 200 day moving average is $77.06. The company has a market cap of $48.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.63. 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 has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.