Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.

Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 40.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,006 shares during the period. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $2,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake 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. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:SRE opened at $71.14 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $61.90 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.54.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 20th. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James C. Yardley acquired 5,019 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase 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 that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.31.

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.