Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,509,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 173,906 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.71% of Sempra worth $395,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock opened at $72.93 on Thursday. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.92.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SRE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $77.00 target price (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Argus cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, Director Pablo Ferrero bought 2,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.96 per share, with a total value of $184,496.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,110,453.04. This trade represents a 19.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.