Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. bought a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,351 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $253,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $985,000 after acquiring an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 29,004 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $605,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $0.66 on Friday, hitting $71.32. 3,115,435 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,960,282. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.55 and its 200 day moving average is $71.68. The company has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.