Amalgamated Bank Has $11.40 Million Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 152,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,982 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $11,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 100.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 85.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho reduced their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Karen L. Sedgwick sold 5,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $367,301.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,063,739.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’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 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 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 0.1 %

SRE traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.92. 3,451,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,043,445. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $70.63 and its 200 day moving average is $71.77. Sempra has a 12 month low of $63.75 and a 12 month high of $78.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70.

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. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

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.