Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 1,220,047 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,220,047 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.85% of Sempra Energy worth $4,584,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $629,978,000 after acquiring an additional 538,919 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,168,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $368,814,000 after purchasing an additional 25,254 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,601,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $403,632,000 after purchasing an additional 258,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,542,807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $324,175,000 after buying an additional 33,562 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $72.00 to $71.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 2.0%

SRE opened at $82.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra Energy has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $77.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.81.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.35 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 1,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $126,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,600 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,248,000. This trade represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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