Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 18,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,666,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 9.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $123,614,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in Sempra by 201.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares during the period. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.56. The stock had a trading volume of 7,235,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,352,476. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.58. The firm has a market cap of $45.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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, Mizuho cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.58.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.