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

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lessened its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 56.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 51.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 48.3% in the first quarter. Pingora Partners LLC now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 245.1% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy by 230.8% during the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Sempra Energy by 74.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $93.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $61.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $88.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.44. Sempra Energy has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 4,322 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.55, for a total transaction of $400,001.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,128.75. This represents a 27.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $419,399.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $70.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. BTIG Research upgraded Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.42.

About Sempra Energy

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.