2,744 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by TCI Wealth Advisors Inc.

TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its stake in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position 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 increased its stake in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 85.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $72.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,269,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,933,235. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $78.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.80. The stock has a market cap of $45.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.