Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,200,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,774 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for about 0.7% of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS owned approximately 0.19% of Sempra worth $105,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $123,614,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 201.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth $33,023,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.68 on Monday, hitting $70.22. The company had a trading volume of 4,073,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,355,362. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.23 and a 200 day moving average of $83.49.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value 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. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho decreased 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

About Sempra

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.