Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Jump Financial LLC

Jump Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 63.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,218 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group downgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.54.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

Sempra stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.75. 4,122,952 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,721,994. The company's 50-day moving average is $71.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The firm has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during 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 company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Sempra 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.