Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.7%, owning 344,473 shares valued at approximately $26.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• A majority of analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Sempra Energy, with a target price of $86.09, while Morgan Stanley and Mizuho recently raised their price targets to $93.00.
• Sempra Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.645 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.8% and a payout ratio of 62.32%.

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 344,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 12,284 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Sempra Energy worth $26,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pingora Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the 1st quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 230.8% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Eastern Bank raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 44.7% during the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,026 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SRE shares. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $93.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,248,000. The trade was a 9.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,987 shares of company stock worth $4,267,870 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Sempra Energy stock opened at $91.26 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $59.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.66. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $85.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.75. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SRE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.