Smith Moore & CO. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Smith Moore & CO. cut its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,542 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 32,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after buying an additional 11,879 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,509,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,551,000 after acquiring an additional 173,906 shares in the last quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $515,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,248,000 after acquiring an additional 311,094 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,465 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $65.89 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.71. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS 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 $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.