Swedbank AB Has $30.93 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Swedbank AB reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 352,625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,078 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned 0.06% of Sempra worth $30,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Sempra by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were 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 approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.20.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $83.34 on Friday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.06 and a 200-day moving average of $84.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Sempra 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.