Amica Mutual Insurance Co. Sells 9,833 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. cut its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,833 shares during the quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WFA of San Diego LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its stake in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Sempra by 114.4% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 17,491 shares during the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Sempra by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,863,000 after acquiring an additional 20,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $9,715,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.3 %

Sempra stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $72.28. 2,427,912 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,953,792. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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 ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Company 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.