SageView Advisory Group LLC Buys 4,222 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 2,490 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,026,969,000 after buying an additional 2,917,668 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $177,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 519,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,787,000 after acquiring an additional 17,199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $75.97 on Monday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.83. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Mizuho lifted their price target on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.00.

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.