The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $58.80 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Sempra Energy by 5.2%, selling 44,930 shares and now holding approximately 0.13% of the company, valued at $58.8 million.
• Multiple other investors also adjusted their positions, with BNP Paribas Financial Markets increasing its stake by 9.0% and B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG boosting their stake by 54.5% in the first quarter.
• Sempra Energy reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, surpassing consensus estimates while experiencing a slight year-over-year revenue decline of 0.4%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 824,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 44,930 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.13% of Sempra Energy worth $58,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 73.7% during the first quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.24. The company had a trading volume of 3,238,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,469,541. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market capitalization of $53.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $79.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.66.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,248,000. This trade represents a 9.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 39,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $71.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.33.

About Sempra Energy

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.