Generali Investments Management Co LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,322 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 15,332 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 6,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $350,025.06. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of SRE traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $74.64. 6,236,972 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,782,434. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $73.73 and its 200-day moving average is $78.90. 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 market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

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.