Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 98,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,482 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $8,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 47,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 56.6% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,000 after acquiring an additional 9,012 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 39,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,283,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $68.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. 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 fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.27.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SRE. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner purchased 700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at approximately $618,823.35. The trade was a 8.69 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.