Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 604 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 102.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 128,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,756,000 after purchasing an additional 65,119 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 89.6% during the third quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 1,896 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 99.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 30,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after buying an additional 15,080 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 578 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 104.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 77,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 39,634 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,451,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.70. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.65 and its 200-day moving average is $71.78. The firm has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.