Sempra Energy $SRE Shares Purchased by Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 274,061 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,682 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $22,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 26.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 48,686,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,474,236,000 after purchasing an additional 10,278,893 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at about $192,130,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,448,415 shares in the last quarter. PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in Sempra Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $154,369,000. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Sempra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $160,357,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 owned 3,481 shares in the company, valued at $318,093.78. This represents a 30.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.58, for a total transaction of $503,690.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 34,164 shares in the company, valued at $3,128,739.12. This trade represents a 13.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 55,129 shares of company stock valued at $4,809,916 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $90.75 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $90.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.42. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.92, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 20.28%.The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $89.00 price objective on Sempra Energy and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $98.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.33.

Sempra Energy Profile

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.