Net Worth Advisory Group Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Net Worth Advisory Group lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Sempra were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,865,000 after buying an additional 6,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter valued at $675,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE SRE opened at $68.70 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

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.