Wealthfront Advisers LLC Decreases Holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 50.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,243 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,359 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,143,248,000 after acquiring an additional 311,094 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Sempra Energy from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays set a $71.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $88.00 price objective (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Sempra Energy from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $78.25 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $51.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.97.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.55% and a net margin of 22.15%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Sempra Energy's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 26th. Sempra Energy's payout ratio is 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.

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