Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Reduced by Rothschild Investment LLC

Rothschild Investment LLC decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 702 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 8,093.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 52,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,392,000 after purchasing an additional 51,879 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Sempra by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 17,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Sempra by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Sempra by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 51,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,289,000 after buying an additional 8,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 18.9 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $70.67 on Wednesday. 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 has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $44.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.93.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.20.

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.