Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 24,131 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its stake in Sempra Energy by 19.6%, selling 24,131 shares and leaving it with 99,056 shares valued at about $8.75 million.
• Sempra beat quarterly EPS ($1.28 vs. $1.12) despite a slight revenue miss, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annual $2.63, ~2.8% yield), and holds a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with a ~$101.64 target price.

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,056 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,131 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $8,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 74.6% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $94.00 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $69.08 and a one year high of $101.04. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.91 and its 200 day moving average is $91.85. The company has a market capitalization of $61.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 95.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on SRE. Argus raised shares of Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.64.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $93.30 per share, with a total value of $251,163.60. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.95 per share, for a total transaction of $232,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 11,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. The trade was a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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