Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Acquires 1,569 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in Sempra by 85.6% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.65 on Tuesday, hitting $71.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,263,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,946,043. The company has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $70.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Sempra’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.14.

Sempra Company 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.