Vise Technologies Inc. Buys 2,161 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 77.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.62.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $77.71 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results 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. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Company 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.