Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 1,048 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. trimmed its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,048 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $639,921,000 after acquiring an additional 129,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE SRE opened at $69.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.25, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $81.42 and a 200-day moving average of $84.39. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.50.

About Sempra

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.