LPL Financial LLC Has $48.78 Million Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 556,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.09% of Sempra worth $48,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Sempra by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Sempra by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock opened at $70.15 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.22. The firm has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

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.