Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,047 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Sempra were worth $9,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,774,974,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $123,614,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Sempra by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,882,000 after acquiring an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA bought a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,023,000. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $81.58.

Sempra Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of SRE traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.56. 7,235,223 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,352,476. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.36 and a 200 day moving average of $83.58. The company has a market capitalization of $45.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 1-year low of $64.89 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 (NYSE:SRE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

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.