Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 377 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Simplicity Solutions LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Sempra by 101.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 147.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 104.0% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,000,291,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $67.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $79.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $70.41 and its 200 day moving average is $71.51.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost 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 3.65%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.