KCM Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after purchasing an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 worth $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,143,248,000 after buying an additional 311,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,921,000 after acquiring an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $65.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Sempra 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.