Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment reduced its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 34.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 429,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 221,677 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment owned approximately 0.07% of Sempra worth $37,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.33.

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Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $72.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,726,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,597,232. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.92. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.