Magellan Asset Management Ltd Has $171.09 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra Energy $SRE

Magellan Asset Management Ltd trimmed its stake in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) by 11.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,257,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 287,401 shares during the period. Sempra Energy accounts for about 2.0% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.35% of Sempra Energy worth $171,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra Energy by 21.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,656,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $260,950,000 after purchasing an additional 648,530 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sempra Energy by 7.0% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,495,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,435,000 after purchasing an additional 229,045 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra Energy by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 2,182,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $155,739,000 after purchasing an additional 52,838 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 46.0% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 37,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 11,811 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a research note on Monday, October 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research raised Sempra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $82.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $86.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra Energy news, EVP Caroline Ann Winn sold 5,114 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,229,553.80. This trade represents a 11.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kevin C. Sagara sold 28,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.21, for a total value of $2,430,637.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,303,149.75. This represents a 65.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 52,733 shares of company stock valued at $4,541,791 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $93.63 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $88.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.32. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 20.28% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.32%.

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.