Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,405,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 86,577 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $254,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.7 %

Sempra stock opened at $75.23 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.86. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.56 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.