Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,917 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,917 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 3.4% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in Sempra by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Presima Securities ULC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 5,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Sempra from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.10.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.55. 2,530,372 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,746,121. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.27. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $80.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.99%.

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.