Schroder Investment Management Group Grows Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 36.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 546,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 146,751 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.09% of Sempra worth $47,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Sempra by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its stake in Sempra by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Sempra by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total transaction of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This trade represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value 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. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.93. 4,726,239 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,597,232. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.92.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.33.

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.