Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Sempra were worth $3,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Sempra by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 27,123,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,969,000 after purchasing an additional 2,917,668 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Sempra by 5,279.4% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,583,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,591,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554,374 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Sempra in the first quarter worth $64,994,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,455,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $183,495,000 after purchasing an additional 658,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,530,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,746,121. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $76.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.25. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $80.54. The company has a market capitalization of $49.50 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sempra’s revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related 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 purchased at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.10.

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.