Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SRE. WFA of San Diego LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 29.9% during the 3rd quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after acquiring an additional 34,348 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 114.4% in the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,469 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,715,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $72.92 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.77. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change 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, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.