Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 40,217 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,635,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 40,217 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $417,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $701,649,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 786.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,637 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 809.5% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,750,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $208,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,415 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,328,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,025,777,000 after buying an additional 2,090,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP lifted its position in Sempra Energy by 321.9% during the 2nd quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP now owns 1,676,932 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,279,431 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 7,564 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $698,081.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 41,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,809,731.20. This trade represents a 15.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.70, for a total value of $45,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 33,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,086,988.80. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Sempra Energy stock opened at $92.53 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $60.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.10 and a 200 day moving average of $86.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.Sempra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price target on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.17.

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.