GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Sells 16,130 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. reduced its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 298,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,130 shares during the period. Sempra makes up about 1.5% of GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $22,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,141,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $191,963,000 after purchasing an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 780.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sempra by 3.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 668,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $112,411,000 after buying an additional 23,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in Sempra by 77.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 5,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SRE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Sempra from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $86.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,192,812 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,956,149. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.70 and a 200 day moving average of $71.56. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

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.

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