Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1,283.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 265,485 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 246,299 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $18,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Sempra Trading Down 3.0%

SRE traded down $2.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.94. 3,855,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,792,178. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $48.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.46. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 26th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.