Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Swiss National Bank cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,967,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 56,300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $147,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $72.92 on Friday. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $78.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.63 and a 200-day moving average of $71.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.