Advisory Services Network LLC Sells 4,048 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,652 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,048 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRE. Citigroup dropped their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.31.

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Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,998,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,123. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.