Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Unigestion Holding SA

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 332,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,689 shares during the quarter. Sempra comprises 1.7% of Unigestion Holding SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings in Sempra were worth $29,155,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $65.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $75.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.71. The firm has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

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.