Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its holdings in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,497,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 137,898 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.69% of Sempra Energy worth $397,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 18,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 6,196 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 53,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 15,474 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 14,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 78.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 423,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,072,000 after purchasing an additional 188,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE SRE opened at $98.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $64.60 billion, a PE ratio of 35.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.60. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $65.65 and a 52 week high of $101.04.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.6575 per share. This is a boost from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 2,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $93.30 per share, for a total transaction of $251,163.60. Following the purchase, the director owned 17,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,621,180.80. This trade represents a 18.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total transaction of $146,789.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at $441,895.54. The trade was a 24.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 and have sold 7,539 shares worth $706,906. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $100.00 price target (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $98.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $100.73.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.