Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 750 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Sempra in the 1st quarter valued at $815,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,293,000. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 13.7% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 117,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,418,000 after purchasing an additional 14,100 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd raised its position in Sempra by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,891,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $207,662,000 after purchasing an additional 133,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Sempra by 249.9% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 155,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,195,000 after purchasing an additional 111,314 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE:SRE opened at $82.16 on Friday. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $84.47. The company has a market cap of $51.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $81.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 22.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.20.

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.