Caprock Group LLC Buys 629 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 42,865 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sempra by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,870,591,000 after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Sempra by 4.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after buying an additional 145,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,921,000 after buying an additional 129,891 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays dropped their target price on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $82.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $86.83 and its 200 day moving average is $84.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.63%.

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.