Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Has $380,000 Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 119.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.05. 1,000,964 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,945,541. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.66. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.38. The firm has a market cap of $45.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.93, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.