Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 50.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,905 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,917 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.75.

Sempra Stock Down 0.1%

SRE stock opened at $75.89 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.48 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Sempra 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.