Larson Financial Group LLC Sells 171 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Larson Financial Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 34.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $2,421,677.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $71.64. 1,093,939 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,948,601. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.38.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. Sempra’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

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.