Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 8,015 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 578,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,015 shares during the quarter. Sempra makes up about 0.9% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System owned approximately 0.09% of Sempra worth $43,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Sempra by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.50. 1,981,094 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,933,235. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $46.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.82. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $78.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.