Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $136.92 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to 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 approximately 0.26% of Sempra worth $136,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 15,111 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Sempra by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 139,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,618,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Sempra by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 18,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 4,753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $86.81. 4,630,584 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,948,429. Sempra has a one year low of $66.40 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market cap of $54.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.77. 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's 50-day moving average price is $88.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra's revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SRE. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America began coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $91.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.