CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases 1,435 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,955 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 5.4% during the fourth 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 period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $65.89 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $75.87 and its 200 day moving average is $82.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.