Tucker Asset Management LLC Sells 386 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Tucker Asset Management LLC lessened its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 386 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,662,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $282,000. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its position in Sempra by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 337,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,629,000 after purchasing an additional 7,395 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 35,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 903 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $69.65 on Friday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

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.