Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Sells 1,299 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,299 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Sempra by 85.6% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $71.99 on Friday. 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 market cap of $45.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.66. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $79.30.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SRE. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. 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 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

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.