Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 423,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 118,980 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Sempra worth $37,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 45,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,982,000 after buying an additional 5,721 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Sempra by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 15,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 3,714 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,740,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $328,147,000 after acquiring an additional 115,372 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 77.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 7,402 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped 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. Barclays cut 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.11. 388,985 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,555,007. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $45.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG 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.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

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.