Larson Financial Group LLC Trims Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Larson Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,536 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 171 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in Sempra by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% in the third quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its holdings in Sempra by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s 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 owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $141.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $71.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,093,939 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,948,601. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.38. The firm has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.