Capital Research Global Investors Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 997,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,656 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 0.16% of Sempra worth $87,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,649,000 after purchasing an additional 14,338 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Sempra by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,956,000 after buying an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Sempra by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Sempra Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $74.75. 4,122,952 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,719,752. 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 has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.14. The company has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.