Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 128,847 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned about 5.42% of Sempra worth $2,870,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SRE. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $377,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich boosted its stake in Sempra by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.60. 3,265,220 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,186,882. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.66. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.08 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.91.

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.