Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 199 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,130 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 199 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 180.4% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $87.20 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $55.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $84.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.98. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.