Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,444 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,746 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in Sempra were worth $4,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $4.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.89. 6,643,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,619,447. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.71. Sempra has a 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company 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 revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.33.

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.