Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,181,693 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 538,919 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.13% of Sempra worth $629,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.54.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $74.72. 3,277,940 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,738,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $70.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.00. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

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.