Larson Financial Group LLC Has $458,000 Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,221 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.50.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $69.47 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.36. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week 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. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions 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 value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.