SevenBridge Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SevenBridge Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 56.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,805 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,879 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $651,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $2.87 on Monday, hitting $63.01. The company had a trading volume of 4,067,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,624,840. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1 year low of $62.26 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $75.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.33.

About Sempra

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.