Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,483 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,691 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,483 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance raised its position in shares of Sempra by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 7,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Sempra by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 7,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 5,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 1,030 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 35,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,687,000 after buying an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 404,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,194,000 after acquiring an additional 84,133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock opened at $67.94 on Thursday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.51.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.