Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Position Lowered by Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 212 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,880,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $570,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 240.3% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 3,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 2,776 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Sempra and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.75.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $78.47 on Monday. 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $73.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.47. The company has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

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.