Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Holdings Reduced by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 40.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 36,100 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $4,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 567.2% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 102,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,036,000 after acquiring an additional 86,958 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 868,933 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,223,000 after purchasing an additional 19,571 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in Sempra by 128.4% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.40. 3,066,378 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,727,137. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.50. The company has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 56.70%.

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.