Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 732,542 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,403 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.12% of Sempra worth $55,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,225,884,000 after acquiring an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted 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 purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 147.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC grew its position in Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 109.0% in the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sempra Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of SRE traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $78.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,034,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,047,795. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $49.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.70. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $78.20.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm 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 business posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.93%.

About Sempra

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.