Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,625,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 48,512 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.57% of Sempra worth $303,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Sempra by 250.0% in the third quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Down 0.4 %

SRE traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.27. 2,554,420 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,233,663. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market cap of $59.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $85.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.64.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm's revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SRE. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.00.

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.