Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $6.95 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 414.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 63,839 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in Sempra by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 225.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 180.4% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $72.70 on Thursday. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $83.71 and its 200-day moving average is $84.84. The firm has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. UBS Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was 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.

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.