Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 378,979 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $33,245,000. Sempra accounts for about 1.7% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. owned about 0.06% of Sempra at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after buying an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,865,000 after buying an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at $675,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE traded down $2.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.55. 5,728,318 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,549,999. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.15 and a 200-day moving average of $84.58. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.54.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value 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. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.