Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 35.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,265 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Sempra by 93.2% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 83,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Opus Capital Group LLC now owns 6,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,143,660 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $85,466,000 after purchasing an additional 41,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Sempra by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 219,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,375,000 after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $68.79 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.43. The stock has a market cap of $43.49 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $70.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

About Sempra

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.