Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 16,858 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,429,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 16,858 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $125,373,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $123,614,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $43,956,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $63.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.57. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.