Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Reduced by Private Trust Co. NA

Private Trust Co. NA trimmed its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,503 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Sempra were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its stake in Sempra by 250.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

SRE stock opened at $71.50 on Monday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.79. The stock has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current 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 $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

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.