M&T Bank Corp Acquires 5,305 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,217 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,305 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Sempra were worth $3,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,870,591,000 after buying an additional 128,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,774,974,000 after buying an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after purchasing an additional 145,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $639,921,000 after purchasing an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

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Sempra Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.23. The stock had a trading volume of 5,948,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,561,125. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $81.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.42. The firm has a market cap of $45.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two 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.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. Sempra's payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.