Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Sells 406,351 Shares of Sempra Energy $SRE

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. reduced its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 77.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 118,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 406,351 shares during the period. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $10,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $942,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 6,911 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $871,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective (up from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays set a $95.00 price target on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.00.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 4,872 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.58, for a total value of $451,049.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 39,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,304.82. The trade was a 11.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.36. The company has a market capitalization of $61.07 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.73. Sempra Energy has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $97.44.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. Sempra Energy’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.6575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.48%.

Sempra Energy Company 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.