National Pension Service Acquires 137,318 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,657,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 137,318 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.26% of Sempra worth $145,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 6,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 46,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,890,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Sempra by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $72.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1 year low of $64.89 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $83.71 and its 200-day moving average is $84.84.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 56.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.31.

Insider Activity

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.