SageView Advisory Group LLC Raises Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC grew its position in Sempra by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after acquiring an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $1.47 on Thursday, reaching $75.86. 2,703,150 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,038,130. The company has a market capitalization of $48.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.17 and a 200-day moving average of $72.39. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $78.83.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price 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 assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.86.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.