I've heard of giant and trek before, but from what i know doesn't specialized specializes in road bikes?

No. Technically they were a mountain bike company anyway. They have a wide range of bicycles.

i thought the price reflected better components and quality.

You don't always get what you pay for. Specialized is known for skimping/cost cutting on parts on the low end, and still being more expensive than most other entry level offerings.

I'm just looking for a quality bicycle that can carry me from beginner to intermediate without breaking down.

A Giant, Cannondale, Specialized, or Trek, will all do that just fine. It just depends on what you want/need and your budget.

So why are you leaning towards the secteur? Any particular reason?

This is why i'm bringing up the brands. For example, this giant defy 5 is about $700 and it has most of the same parts as the specialized secteur but for $150 less(primary difference being a carbon fork).

Now comparing it with this trek, it and the Secteur are almost identical, carbon fork and all. The trek is ~$770 compared to specialized's $850.

Then you have an option like Bikesdirect. They sell bikes for very cheap, but they require a little assembly. You could DIY or you could take it to a shop and have them assemble it for ~$60-$120

Look at this bike or this one for $600compared to the Secteur or even the Trek. Its $550 or $600 shipped, both have carbon forks. Add in even $150 to assemble it, you're still at $750 at the most.

Point is, there are a lot of bikes out there you should look at. If you don't have a reason to go for the secteur, why not look?