12,971 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by Resolution Capital Ltd

Resolution Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,971 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,138,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Up 1.5%

Sempra stock traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $77.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,336,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,740,288. The company has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $80.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Barclays cut shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last three months. Corporate 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.