Signaturefd LLC Buys 217 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in Sempra by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.7 %

Sempra stock opened at $72.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $70.50 and its 200-day moving average is $71.66. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on SRE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.