Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 118,980 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 21.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 423,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 118,980 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $37,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Sempra by 201.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,023,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Sempra by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,219,000 after purchasing an additional 393,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $69.23 on Monday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.44. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.