Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $14.76 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 168,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 6.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 23.4% during the third quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 2,745 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 1.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 37,172 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,109,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Sempra by 4.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 288,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,133,000 after acquiring an additional 13,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of Sempra by 23.2% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $70.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.57 and a 200-day moving average of $83.97. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.