B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Sells 25,012 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 37.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 25,012 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sempra by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $123,614,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,956,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Up 0.3 %

SRE opened at $71.57 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.65 and its 200-day moving average is $82.99. The company has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective 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. Five 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

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.