Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 33,109 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 781.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,109 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Sempra were worth $3,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 633.4% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,624,000 after acquiring an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth approximately $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $286,695,000 after purchasing an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the third quarter worth $675,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,956,000 after buying an additional 26,821 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Trading Up 0.1 %

SRE traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $70.14. The company had a trading volume of 873,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,554,825. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.22. 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 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on SRE shares. Argus cut Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. The trade was a 19.92 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.