Capital International Inc. CA Grows Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Capital International Inc. CA increased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 501,106 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 102,663 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA owned approximately 0.08% of Sempra worth $43,957,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $584,763,000 after buying an additional 2,758,037 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,797,376,000 after buying an additional 1,511,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,614,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.35. 4,060,514 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,449,590. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.29.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.96 per share, for a total transaction of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This represents a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.31.

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.