Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Has $168.93 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,925,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,584 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for approximately 2.0% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.30% of Sempra worth $168,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $81,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth about $466,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 881,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,708,000 after purchasing an additional 13,077 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 45.2% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 9,758 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 41,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim dropped their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

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.