Meeder Asset Management Inc. Invests $29,000 in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $72.93 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

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.