Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Sells 1,591 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 35.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,591 shares during the quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $584,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758,037 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Sempra Energy by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.4%

SRE stock opened at $74.09 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra Energy has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.23 and its 200-day moving average is $77.80.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 22.15% and a return on equity of 8.55%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra Energy

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra Energy 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 sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group cut Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra Energy from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $88.00 price target (up previously from $87.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Sempra Energy from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.83.

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.