Mission Wealth Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Mission Wealth Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 289 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Sempra were worth $233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its stake in Sempra by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.3% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,890,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenwood Capital Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 14,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $69.55 on Friday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month 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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $81.79 and its 200 day moving average is $84.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.