Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Sells 1,100 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 50.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Sempra were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Sempra by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,026,969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,917,668 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $958,253,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,578,779 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $903,534,000 after purchasing an additional 233,819 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,077,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $528,912,000 after purchasing an additional 507,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 4,338,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $324,221,000 after purchasing an additional 54,592 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.27.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $78.59. 561,096 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,985,188. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $83.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.85 and its 200 day moving average is $73.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.52%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.