Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Partners Group Holding AG

Partners Group Holding AG trimmed its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 255,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 48,727 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for approximately 0.8% of Partners Group Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Partners Group Holding AG's holdings in Sempra were worth $22,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.62 on Thursday, hitting $70.15. 4,412,651 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,371,128. The firm's 50-day moving average is $77.54 and its 200 day moving average is $83.22. The company has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business 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 business's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.33.

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.