Quantinno Capital Management LP Increases Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 28.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Sempra were worth $3,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 1.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,407,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,352,000 after purchasing an additional 45,884 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Sempra by 177.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 31,542 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $359,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $78.41 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $80.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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