Huntington National Bank Decreases Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Huntington National Bank lowered its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 728 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $6,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $123,614,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,956,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $72.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.92. The company has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.