Advisors Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 16.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 24,582 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 89.0% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 44,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 20,971 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 910,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,059,000 after purchasing an additional 10,256 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $74,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 85,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,389,000 after purchasing an additional 24,838 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1,236.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 200,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,962,000 after purchasing an additional 185,236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,530,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,996,338. The firm has a market cap of $49.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $80.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $76.25 and its 200 day moving average is $73.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

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.