Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 3,759 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado decreased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,151 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,759 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 3.4% during the 1st 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 period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank raised its position in Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Presima Securities ULC raised its position in Sempra by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Presima Securities ULC now owns 5,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $415,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sempra Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $79.07. 766,126 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,980,850. The company has a fifty day moving average of $76.25 and a 200 day moving average of $73.22. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $80.54. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 54.93%.

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.