Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,006 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,917 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the third quarter valued at approximately $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

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Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $70.22. 4,073,913 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,355,362. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of 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. Insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 in the last 90 days. 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.