Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $319.84 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,279,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 61,486 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.68% of Sempra worth $319,841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management raised its position in Sempra by 85.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SRE. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $82.23.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $76.63. 2,666,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,036,967. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $77.88.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

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.