Pointe Capital Management LLC Acquires 2,010 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Pointe Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 47.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,010 shares during the quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 147.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 104.0% in the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 109.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $826,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SRE traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.92. The stock had a trading volume of 3,451,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,043,445. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.78. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SRE. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. 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.