Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 420,635 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,660,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 420,635 shares during the quarter. Sempra accounts for about 2.6% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.42% of Sempra worth $233,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 6.0% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 5,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 520.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 24,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,000 after purchasing an additional 20,320 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $433,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.5% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,272,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,772,000 after buying an additional 6,796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Sempra by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,715,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,053,000 after acquiring an additional 190,665 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $72.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.92. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.