Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Invests $8.82 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 100,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,817,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the third quarter worth approximately $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

SRE traded down $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $69.56. 7,235,223 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,350,219. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $78.36 and its 200 day moving average is $83.57. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.71%. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.58.

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.