Toronto Dominion Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,474 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 53,470 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Sempra were worth $19,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.77.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $78.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $71.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.16.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Sempra 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.

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