Aviva PLC Sells 37,285 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Aviva PLC decreased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 709,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 37,285 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $62,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 633.4% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth about $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after buying an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $65.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.