Tredje AP fonden Acquires 90,131 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Tredje AP fonden grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 90,131 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Sempra were worth $16,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Sempra by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 7,423 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $651,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI grew its position in Sempra by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sempra by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,890,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Sempra Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $67.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,990,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,631,482. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $84.05. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is an increase from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James C. Yardley purchased 5,019 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at $350,025.06. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the company'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 value of $225,717.15. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 6,719 shares of company stock valued at $467,180. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.