Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 26,652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,048 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sempra by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $584,763,000 after acquiring an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,614,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim cut their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.46.

Sempra Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $68.36 on Friday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $44.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50 day moving average is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.88.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

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.