Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 65,563 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,869,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 65,563 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.61% of Sempra worth $339,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $123,614,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $43,956,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after purchasing an additional 490,269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SRE opened at $70.15 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $77.54 and its 200 day moving average is $83.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, 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 available through this link. Also, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the purchase, the director now 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 bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.