Financial Management Professionals Inc. Purchases 468 Shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE)

Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its position in Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,738 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP bought a new position in Sempra Energy in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 440.0% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. EWG Elevate Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 842.9% during the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coston McIsaac & Partners acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy during the second quarter valued at about $47,000. 84.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $146.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $146.09. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Trevor I. Mihalik sold 2,306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.50, for a total value of $342,441.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 21,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,172,257. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,504 shares of company stock worth $8,045,547. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 22nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $169.00 to $166.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Sempra Energy from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, December 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $169.60.

Sempra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $3.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.34. The stock had a trading volume of 3,999,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,428,827. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.60. Sempra Energy has a 52-week low of $136.54 and a 52-week high of $176.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.21 and a 200 day moving average of $156.77. The stock has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.72.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.29. Sempra Energy had a return on equity of 10.53% and a net margin of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra Energy will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 22nd will be given a $1.19 dividend. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Sempra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Sempra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.18%.

Sempra Energy Profile

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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.