Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,408 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,433 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $12,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 311,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 sale, the insider now owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $74.09 on Monday. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $75.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. Sempra Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Argus cut shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra Energy from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.83.

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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