Asset Dedication LLC Sells 5,268 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Asset Dedication LLC reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 89.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,268 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in Sempra by 250.0% during the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $83.34 on Friday. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $87.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.27. The firm has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Sempra 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.