Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stock Holdings Increased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 93.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Sempra were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 119.9% during the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SRE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.