68,406 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 68,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,001,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake 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 last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. The trade was a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Sempra Stock 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's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,737,508. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.00. Sempra has a twelve month low of $61.90 and a twelve month high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.54.

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.