Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC lessened its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,239,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 751,632 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.67% of Sempra worth $371,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased 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. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $69.91. The company had a trading volume of 862,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,674,419. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group cut 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.31.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.