Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich

Key Points

• Munich Re trimmed its Sempra Energy stake by 5.0% in Q4, selling 38,499 shares and ending the quarter with 731,250 shares worth about $65.15 million (roughly 0.11% of Sempra and 1.6% of Munich Re’s holdings).
• Analysts' consensus is a Moderate Buy on Sempra with a $102.67 price target, driven by a mix of ratings (2 Strong Buy, 8 Buy, 4 Hold) and recent price targets in the $100–$105 range.
• Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, yield ~2.8%) and reported Q4 EPS of $1.28, beating estimates while revenue was slightly down year‑over‑year.

Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich decreased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 731,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,499 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 1.6% of Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich owned 0.11% of Sempra Energy worth $65,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $773,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $458,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $104.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.67.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $93.23 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $95.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $60.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.67. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $72.99 and a 1-year high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.22% and a net margin of 13.27%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 5.11 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 11,275 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 2,692 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,621,180.80. This represents a 18.33% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Profile

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.