Bcwm LLC Invests $10.64 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Bcwm LLC purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 121,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $10,640,000. Sempra accounts for approximately 3.8% of Bcwm LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $576,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435 shares during the period. SCP Investment LP bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $596,000. Hartree Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $478,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 546,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,750,000 after acquiring an additional 146,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L & S Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 52.6% during the 4th quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $71.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,581,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,593,553. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $76.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on SRE. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Sempra Company 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.