Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Reduced by RNC Capital Management LLC

RNC Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 563,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,310 shares during the period. Sempra makes up approximately 2.5% of RNC Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $42,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 119.9% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.64. The company has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sempra from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $78.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.17.

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.