Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 33,945 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.9%, owning approximately 3.77 million shares valued at $269.37 million.
• Sempra Energy's shares recently opened at $81.74, with a 12-month range between $61.90 and $95.77, reflecting a 1.0% decrease in value.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 56.70%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 0.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,774,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,945 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.58% of Sempra Energy worth $269,370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% in the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,248,000. This represents a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $0.40 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.69. 677,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,573,247. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $53.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.62. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $77.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.71.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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.