Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 71.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.73% of Sempra worth $408,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Sempra by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 8,194 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $719,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.77.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Michael N. Mears purchased 1,000 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 1.3%

Sempra stock traded up $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $77.50. 1,802,431 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,726,000. 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 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.27. The company has a market cap of $50.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Sempra's 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.