Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 37.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,453 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,289 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Sempra by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after acquiring an additional 128,847 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after buying an additional 145,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,921,000 after acquiring an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $71.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.73. 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.

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 net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.92.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

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