Baxter Bros Inc. Has $298,000 Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Baxter Bros Inc. cut its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Sempra by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $81,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the third quarter valued at about $200,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 55.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Sempra by 8.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 117,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,808,000 after acquiring an additional 9,342 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $70.22 on Tuesday. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.49.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.