Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stake Raised by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,266,482 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 176,531 shares during the period. Sempra accounts for about 0.6% of MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.52% of Sempra worth $286,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Sempra by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,369,076,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Sempra by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,758,037 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 71.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,651,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $408,069,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,797,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,511,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $75.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63. Sempra has a 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Sempra and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Barclays lowered shares of 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.54.

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.

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