2,744 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by TCI Wealth Advisors Inc.

TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 147.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $367,301.18. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,063,739.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.69. 1,269,884 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,933,235. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market cap of $45.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $78.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.