Flputnam Investment Management Co. Acquires 4,958 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 35,960 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 842.9% during the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.46 and its 200-day moving average is $71.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $79.51.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.