Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 85,948 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 36.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 85,948 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $12,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on SRE shares. Barclays cut Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $74.72. The stock had a trading volume of 3,277,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,737,508. Sempra has a 52 week low of $61.90 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Sempra 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.