Lbp Am Sa Sells 85,844 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Lbp Am Sa cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 51.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 85,844 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Sempra were worth $7,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,865,000 after purchasing an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at about $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.97. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,719 shares of company stock worth $467,180. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.