Raiffeisen Bank International AG Invests $1.37 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,654 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,366,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resolution Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,138,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 143,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,567,000 after buying an additional 7,162 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Sempra by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 39,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 8,638 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $820,000. Finally, Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV raised its position in Sempra by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 77,258 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,781,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE SRE traded down $0.29 on Tuesday, reaching $78.14. 3,435,068 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,744,871. The company has a market cap of $50.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.16.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 26th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SRE. Citigroup cut their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Sempra from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.77.

Insider Activity at Sempra

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

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.