AIA Group Ltd Sells 13,265 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 35.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,265 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Sempra were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 842.9% during the second quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. PrairieView Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 380 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total value of $2,421,677.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $70.09. 3,104,538 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,968,569. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.31 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $70.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.14.

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.