ICA Group Wealth Management LLC Takes $95,000 Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $95,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 109.0% in the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,334,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $703,034,000 after buying an additional 5,197,328 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of SRE opened at $74.84 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $47.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a 1 year low of $63.75 and a 1 year high of $78.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.84.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.93%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.00.

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.