one8zero8 LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

one8zero8 LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $402,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Sempra by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 107,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,015,000 after acquiring an additional 7,198 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 594,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,733,000 after buying an additional 156,397 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,674 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,649,000 after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Sempra by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,878,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,091,000 after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Sempra Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SRE traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $70.10. The stock had a trading volume of 6,075,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,335,969. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.80 and its 200 day moving average is $83.75. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $45.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released 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. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

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.