Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys Shares of 1,611 Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Prospera Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Sempra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,675,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Glassman Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.1% in the third quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 2,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 5.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in shares of Sempra Energy by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 733 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.75% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra Energy news, CFO Trevor I. Mihalik sold 2,306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.50, for a total value of $342,441.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,362 shares in the company, valued at $3,172,257. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Trevor I. Mihalik sold 2,306 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.50, for a total transaction of $342,441.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,362 shares in the company, valued at $3,172,257. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of Sempra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.09, for a total transaction of $2,813,693.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $146.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,979 shares of company stock worth $4,728,393 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sempra Energy from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. StockNews.com started coverage on Sempra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Sempra Energy from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra Energy from $169.00 to $166.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $167.25.

Sempra Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $153.29 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $151.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.39. Sempra Energy has a 12-month low of $136.54 and a 12-month high of $176.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.16. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 10.28% and a net margin of 14.47%. The firm had revenue of $6.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.04 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra Energy will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 5th will be issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 3rd. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.34%.

About Sempra Energy

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Sempra Energy is an energy-service holding company, which engages in the development and operation of energy infrastructure, and provision of electric and gas services. It operates through the following segments: San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), Sempra Texas Utilities, Sempra Mexico, and Sempra LNG.