Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,265 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 842.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $68.79 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.49. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $79.43.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.