Werlinich Asset Management LLC Has $4.02 Million Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Werlinich Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Sempra comprises approximately 2.6% of Werlinich Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Werlinich Asset Management LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $4,018,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during 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. increased 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 valued at $584,763,000 after buying an additional 2,758,037 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $408,069,000 after buying an additional 1,936,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 16,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. The trade was a 32.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on Sempra and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.75.

Sempra Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $76.12. 2,698,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,781,303. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $74.07 and its 200 day moving average is $78.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.64. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid 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 3.39%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.