USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 21,325 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 143,638 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 21,325 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $12,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $78.14 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.