Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Sells 33,753 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 313,506 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,753 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $22,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $71.00 target price on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $88.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of Sempra Energy 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 transaction, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $80.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,137,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,156,543. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.51. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.78.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

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.