HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Increases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,063,007,000 after acquiring an additional 145,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,921,000 after acquiring an additional 129,891 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.