Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Sells 7,073 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 32.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 14,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,073 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

SRE stock opened at $74.75 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.33 and a 200 day moving average of $81.13.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 3.45%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho cut their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.54.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra 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.