Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $16.67 Million in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 190,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,674,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 265.2% during the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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Sempra Stock Down 0.2 %

SRE traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $66.79. The company had a trading volume of 897,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,664,895. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $73.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.98. The company has a market capitalization of $43.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a one year low of $61.90 and a one year high of $95.77.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Argus lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $80.46.

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.