<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Summit Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of  Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,940 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.</p><ul><li>3 Stocks Investing $650 Billion in the U.S.—Should You Invest?</li></ul><p>Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Crews Bank &amp; Trust acquired a new stake in  Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $26,000.  Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in  Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000.  Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in  Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000.  Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in  Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000.  Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of  Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th 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. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. </p><h2>Sempra Trading Down 2.8 %</h2><p>SRE stock opened at $70.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.84. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. </p><ul><li>3 Utility Stocks to Weather Market Storms</li></ul><p>Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share.  Analysts expect that  Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year. </p><h2>Sempra Increases Dividend</h2><p>The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio  is 58.37%. </p><h2>Insider Activity at Sempra</h2><p>In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities &amp; Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business'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 transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><p>SRE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group  restated a &#34;hold&#34; rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo &amp; Company lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an &#34;overweight&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a &#34;buy&#34; rating to a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus price target of $81.33.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Research Report on Sempra</b></p><h2>Sempra Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Read More</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Sempra</li><li>3 Stocks to Protect Your Portfolio from the Coronavirus Contagion </li><li>Shares of RH Down Nearly 40%: Where Investors Can Turn To Now</li><li>What is the MACD Indicator and How to Use it in Your Trading</li><li>Tariffs, Spin-Out, and R2 Updates Are Positive Signs for Rivian</li><li>3 Healthcare Dividend Stocks to Buy</li><li>Cathie Wood Loads Up on Baidu—Is It the Right Time to Buy?</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SRE?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVNSRQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVNSRQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Sempra Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Sempra, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Sempra wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Sempra currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Summit Financial LLC acquired a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during Q4, purchasing 3,940 shares valued at approximately $348,000. Other investors also increased their stakes in Sempra. The stock opened at $70.77, with a market cap of $46.10 billion. Sempra reported $1.50 EPS, beating estimates, and announced a dividend increase to $0.645 per share. Insider trading activity included significant sales by CEO Jeffrey W. Martin and SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque. Analysts have mixed ratings on Sempra, with price targets adjusted downward.</p>

Summit Financial LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)