Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,714,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,015 shares during the quarter. Sempra Energy comprises 0.5% of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.42% of Sempra Energy worth $244,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $701,649,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Sempra Energy by 786.1% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,957,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $224,082,000 after purchasing an additional 2,623,637 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,328,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,025,777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,840 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,279,431 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Sempra Energy by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,380,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,626,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,214,931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $99.00 price target (up previously from $80.00) on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Evercore ISI set a $105.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.83.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $85.92 on Friday. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $89.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.71. The company has a market cap of $56.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.67% and a net margin of 15.63%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Sempra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 79.14%.

Insider Activity at Sempra Energy

In other Sempra Energy news, CAO Dyan Z. Wold sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.38, for a total value of $137,983.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,093.78. This trade represents a 30.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total value of $503,690.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 34,164 shares in the company, valued at $3,128,739.12. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,396 shares of company stock valued at $1,785,606. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.