Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 2,059,029 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Key Points

• Wellington Management trimmed its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.9% in Q3, selling 2,059,029 shares and now holding 50,405,763 shares (about 7.72% of SRE), worth roughly $4.54 billion and making SRE its 14th-largest holding.
• Insiders were active recently: CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares (an 11.1% reduction in her holding) while Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares; overall insider ownership is just 0.27% and institutional ownership is about 89.65%.
• Dividend and sentiment: Sempra raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6575 (annualized $2.63, yield ~2.8%), and analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $100 target as the stock trades near $95.20.

Wellington Management Group LLP trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,405,763 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,059,029 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy accounts for approximately 0.8% of Wellington Management Group LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 7.72% of Sempra Energy worth $4,535,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 74.6% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 391 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 117.4% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Motco grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 1,945.8% in the 3rd quarter. Motco now owns 491 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 33.9% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 502 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total transaction of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 39,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. This trade represents a 11.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 2,692 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 17,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. The trade was a 18.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders bought 6,192 shares of company stock valued at $576,979. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $101.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays set a $95.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sempra Energy from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Argus raised Sempra Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $99.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $95.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $90.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.57. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $97.44. The company has a market cap of $62.19 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. Sempra Energy's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Sempra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Sempra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.29%.

About Sempra Energy

Sempra Energy is a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company that develops, owns and operates businesses delivering electricity and natural gas. Its operations include regulated utility services that provide electric and gas distribution to residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as non‑regulated infrastructure businesses that develop and manage large-scale energy assets.

The company's product and service portfolio spans electricity and natural gas delivery, transmission and storage, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, power generation and electric transmission projects.

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