New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $8.28 Million Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 963 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 0.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Sempra by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.43 and its 200-day moving average is $84.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 56.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on SRE shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.