Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,251,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 92,998 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.36% of Sempra worth $198,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $476,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 368.7% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,736,000 after buying an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 20,724 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,818,000 after acquiring an additional 3,601 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Sempra by 1,513.4% in the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 85,351 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,487,000 after acquiring an additional 80,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soros Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,140,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE SRE traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, reaching $75.40. 3,066,378 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,741,813. Sempra has a 12-month low of $61.90 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.54.

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.