Unigestion Holding SA Sells 62,689 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Unigestion Holding SA lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 15.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 332,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 62,689 shares during the period. Sempra makes up approximately 1.7% of Unigestion Holding SA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Unigestion Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Sempra worth $29,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Sempra by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,248,000 after purchasing an additional 311,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,921,000 after buying an additional 129,891 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $65.89 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.71. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

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.