Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Lifted by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in Sempra by 34.5% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, 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 transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was 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 directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $72.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.80.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS 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 paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.