Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Cuts Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lessened its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,123 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ? increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $69.56 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.58. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

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.