4,978 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Bought by Congress Wealth Management LLC DE

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 225.6% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

SRE stock opened at $69.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.