Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Acquired by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,946 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $7,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in Sempra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $400,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $8,099,000. Maven Securities LTD increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 151.8% in the 3rd quarter. Maven Securities LTD now owns 14,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after acquiring an additional 8,513 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 35.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 818 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 2,500 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.95 per share, with a total value of $232,375.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,275 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,048,011.25. This represents a 28.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,539 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.38, for a total value of $146,789.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $441,895.54. This trade represents a 24.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought 6,192 shares of company stock worth $576,979 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $91.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.59. Sempra Energy has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $97.44. The company’s fifty day moving average is $91.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.01.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.82 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 13.27% and a return on equity of 8.22%. The business’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.6575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 19th. This is an increase from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.63 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is 95.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sempra Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price (up from $96.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Argus raised Sempra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $100.55.

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.