Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by West Paces Advisors Inc.

West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. West Paces Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 119.9% in the third quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE traded down $1.70 on Tuesday, hitting $66.41. 3,423,456 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,965,477. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.54. The stock has a market cap of $41.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Sempra news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $367,301.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,024 shares in the company, valued at $3,063,739.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by 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.