Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Partners Group Holding AG

Partners Group Holding AG reduced its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 255,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 48,727 shares during the quarter. Sempra makes up 0.8% of Partners Group Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings in Sempra were worth $22,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 225.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $69.56 on Friday. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.58.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.