Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 20,070 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,443,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,070 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Sempra Energy worth $103,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Sempra Energy by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $75.32 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.16. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.64.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price target (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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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