GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $37,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after buying an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $68.69 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.56 and a 200-day moving average of $71.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $43.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.77%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

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.