Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,895 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on Sempra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.75.

Sempra Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $78.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

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.