BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 534,381 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 60.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,415,745 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 534,381 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.22% of Sempra worth $124,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,066,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,740,359. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on 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 set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.54.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.