Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 148,396 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,637,235 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 148,396 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Sempra worth $136,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SRE. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 91.4% during the third quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 154,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,943,000 after buying an additional 73,884 shares during the last quarter. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. 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 worth $639,921,000 after purchasing an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blankinship & Foster LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $1,338,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

NYSE SRE traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $86.81. The company had a trading volume of 4,630,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,948,429. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.57. Sempra has a 52 week low of $66.40 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.60.

About Sempra

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.