Aviva PLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Aviva PLC lowered its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 709,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,285 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.11% of Sempra worth $62,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $123,614,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $43,956,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $66.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 897,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,926. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.98.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.46.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.