DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Reduces Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,541,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 632,598 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 1.51% of Sempra worth $836,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $75.15 on Wednesday. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $48.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. 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. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a boost 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 3.43%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note 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 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, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.54.

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.

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