USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 21,325 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,325 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Sempra were worth $12,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $286,000. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $3,337,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $9,878,000. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 15,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 3,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $283,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $77.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,272,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,747,338. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.07.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.