Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stake Lessened by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,096,726 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 83,645 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned approximately 0.33% of Sempra worth $183,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded up $1.45 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.76. 683,797 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,673,441. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $73.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for 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%. Sempra's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.46.

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.