Johnson Financial Group Inc. Has $362,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,444 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Sempra Stock Up 0.6 %

Sempra stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,277,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,738,254. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. 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 company has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.00.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company 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 firm posted $1.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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. In the last quarter, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.