Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 40,000 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 55.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 40,000 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $126,080.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

SRE traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.97. 2,661,712 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,611,700. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $76.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.85. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley restated 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.75.

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.