Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 56.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,547 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,238,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,584,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,220,047 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 0.3% during the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 13,331,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $951,312,000 after purchasing an additional 41,104 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,520,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,671,000 after purchasing an additional 291,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,489,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $534,479,000 after purchasing an additional 823,663 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SRE shares. BTIG Research raised Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.42.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This represents a 11.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 14,433 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.50, for a total transaction of $1,291,753.50. Following the sale, the director owned 1,042 shares in the company, valued at $93,259. The trade was a 93.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.44. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 79.14%.

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.