Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lessened its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,292 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,594 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.05% of Sempra worth $24,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 842.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 119.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 398 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SRE. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho cut their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $367,301.18. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,063,739.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $68.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average of $71.53. The company has a market cap of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 12-month low of $63.75 and a 12-month high of $79.51.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

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.