M&T Bank Corp Sells 3,723 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,494 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,723 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,143,248,000 after buying an additional 311,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Sempra Energy stock traded down $0.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,819,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,884,529. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.38. The company has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.39, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.63.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 target price (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut 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 note on Thursday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.