Amica Retiree Medical Trust Sells 653 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Amica Retiree Medical Trust reduced its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 653 shares during the quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Sempra were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of SRE opened at $70.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.31.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value 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 represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

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.