AMI Asset Management Corp Has $581,000 Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

AMI Asset Management Corp trimmed its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 15,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 41.0% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 2,136 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Sempra by 21.0% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 112,645 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,568,000 after buying an additional 19,575 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 48.8% during the 2nd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 34,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,658,000 after purchasing an additional 11,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 20,483.3% during the 2nd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 4,916 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $85.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $95.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $88.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.99.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.60.

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.