Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,853 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SRE. PrairieView Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Sempra by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $71.32 on Friday. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.