Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 302,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,048 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $26,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $651,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.31.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,595,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,687,181. The firm has a market cap of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $72.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.45. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. This is a positive change 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.