Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 68.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,341 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SRE. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $1,771,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in Sempra by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 740,649 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,970,000 after buying an additional 73,670 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Sempra by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,478,000 after buying an additional 5,419 shares during the period. G&S Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $350,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Sempra by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 186,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,384,000 after purchasing an additional 5,454 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $86.01 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $54.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.