Fmr LLC Increases Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 3.23% of Sempra worth $1,797,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Sempra by 98.3% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 2,789 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 133.6% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 149,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,114,000 after purchasing an additional 85,500 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Sempra by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 526,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,197,000 after buying an additional 66,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Sempra by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero acquired 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 15,649 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sempra Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE SRE traded up $1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.36. 4,169,530 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,679,333. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $44.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set 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 downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.46.

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.