Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,740,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,372 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.59% of Sempra worth $328,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 77.0% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 7,402 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $468,000. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,245,000. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 30,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.54.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $72.01 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.58. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

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.