Mackenzie Financial Corp Purchases 147,495 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 493,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 147,495 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Sempra worth $43,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Sempra by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,527,944,000 after buying an additional 490,269 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,535,000,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,143,248,000 after purchasing an additional 311,094 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,308,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,742,180. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market capitalization of $50.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.83. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.