Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Moody National Bank Trust Division

Moody National Bank Trust Division trimmed its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 939 shares during the quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after buying an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Sempra by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after purchasing an additional 874,133 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Sempra by 201.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,882,000 after buying an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,023,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 1.9 %

SRE stock traded down $1.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $77.23. 4,085,057 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,392,818. The company has a market capitalization of $48.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a twelve month low of $66.40 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Sempra

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.