Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA Invests $214,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. CA bought a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $70.22 on Tuesday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $78.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.49. The stock has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

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.