Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 58.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,511 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 72,458 shares during the quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $4,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $528,000. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 34,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,985,000 after purchasing an additional 2,696 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Sempra by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 302,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,488,000 after purchasing an additional 16,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 938.2% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 29,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,585,000 after purchasing an additional 26,635 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.31.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $71.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,595,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,686,324. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

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.