Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $4.74 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 252 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Yelin Lapidot Holdings Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Sempra by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,153 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $14,760,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 45,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 94,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,278,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.54.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.50 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $45.29 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.13 and a 200-day moving average of $84.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.11%.

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.