Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,289,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,956,000 after purchasing an additional 26,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 990 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $71.14 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $72.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.45.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.31.

About Sempra

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.