Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 6.2%, acquiring an additional 89,122 shares to own a total of 1,532,526 shares valued at approximately $116.1 million.
• Sempra Energy's stock recently reached a price of $92.81, while the company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion and reported earnings of $0.89 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Analysts have varying ratings for Sempra Energy, with one Strong Buy, seven Buy, and six Hold ratings, and target prices ranging from $80 to $105.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,532,526 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 89,122 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Sempra Energy worth $116,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.2% during the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 8,169 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.6% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% during the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 2,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,259. This represents a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,411 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,790. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Mizuho upped their price target on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. Sempra Energy has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.71.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The firm's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 1st. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 62.32%.

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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