Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Boosts Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sempra by 101.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after buying an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 147.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 109.0% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $826,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $71.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.63. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $79.38.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

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.