Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,989,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 137,930 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for approximately 1.0% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,227,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after acquiring an additional 490,269 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,063,007,000 after buying an additional 145,873 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $69.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released 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. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Mizuho reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.