Vinva Investment Management Ltd Trims Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 61.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 46,983 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Sempra by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,335,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,564,000 after buying an additional 125,833 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,198,000 after buying an additional 48,512 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 2,404,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,158,000 after buying an additional 48,592 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $94.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $86.53 and a 200-day moving average of $81.16. 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 company has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

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.