National Pension Service Has $102.73 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

National Pension Service grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,374,697 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,928 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.22% of Sempra worth $102,731,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $976,926,000 after acquiring an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE:SRE traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $76.18. 3,376,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,978,087. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.84 and a 200 day moving average of $71.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $141.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company 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.