Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 86.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 170,000 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in Sempra were worth $2,254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SRE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.00.

Sempra Price Performance

Sempra stock opened at $94.28 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.07. The stock has a market cap of $59.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 12-month low of $66.40 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.63%.

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.