Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Trims Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 57.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,697 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Sempra were worth $722,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 4,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 14,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $85.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.78. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.74. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra Company Profile

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.