UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $403.63 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,601,372 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 258,979 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.73% of Sempra worth $403,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 265.2% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This trade 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 worth $651,676 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.71. 3,272,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,747,338. The stock has a market cap of $50.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.30 and a 200-day moving average of $80.07. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The business 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%. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors 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 3.32%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. 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 note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.62.

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.