Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 567.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 102,290 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 86,958 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC's holdings in Sempra were worth $9,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $629,978,000 after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Sempra by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 868,933 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,223,000 after buying an additional 19,571 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in Sempra by 128.4% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,722 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 10,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $943,000 after acquiring an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 329.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,035 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 1.1 %

SRE traded up $0.82 on Friday, reaching $75.52. 2,830,803 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,739,094. The company has a market cap of $49.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. 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 twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The company's 50 day moving average is $70.42 and its 200-day moving average is $80.94.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $69.74 per share, for a total transaction of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 5,019 shares of the company's stock, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero purchased 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sempra 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.