Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 448 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Sempra by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its position in Sempra by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in Sempra by 34.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $72.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,000,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,945,541. The company has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $79.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.66.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.77%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

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.