Metis Global Partners LLC Has $2.74 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Metis Global Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 892 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $761,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 4,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 5,535 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $72.63 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.69 and its 200 day moving average is $71.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $45.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a one year low of $63.75 and a one year high of $78.70.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 3.41%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Sempra 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.