Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Decreased by 1ST Source Bank

1ST Source Bank reduced its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,984 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 1.2 %

Sempra stock opened at $71.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.92. The firm has a market cap of $46.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. 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 (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, 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.