Flputnam Investment Management Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 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 institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,141,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $191,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 780.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at $782,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 668,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,411,000 after acquiring an additional 23,431 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 77.4% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,924 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Trading Down 2.5 %

SRE opened at $66.41 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.53. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost 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 (DPR) is 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Finally, Barclays lifted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

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.