Byrne Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8,087.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $29,880,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $807,000 after buying an additional 2,635 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Sempra by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 186,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,384,000 after buying an additional 5,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Sempra by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 5,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $2.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,855,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,792,178. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $48.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company's revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.75.

About Sempra

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.