Capital International Ltd. CA Purchases 40,482 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Capital International Ltd. CA boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 40,482 shares during the period. Capital International Ltd. CA's holdings in Sempra were worth $11,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SRE traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.35. 1,301,436 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,692,574. 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 has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The business's fifty day moving average price is $71.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business 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 posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a $0.645 dividend. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered shares of Sempra from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.31.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares in the company, valued at $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.