Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 526,770 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 66,468 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Sempra worth $46,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Sempra by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Sempra Trading Up 2.2 %
Shares of SRE traded up $1.46 on Friday, hitting $68.36. 4,169,530 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,679,333. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G 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 1 year low of $61.90 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The stock's 50 day moving average is $73.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.88.
Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.
Sempra Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders 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 represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.37%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
SRE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $77.00 target price (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $80.46.
Check Out Our Latest Report on SRE
Insider Transactions at Sempra
In other Sempra news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents 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 purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.
About Sempra
(
Free Report)
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.
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