MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Purchases 176,531 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,266,482 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,531 shares during the period. Sempra makes up approximately 0.6% of MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $286,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th 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 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $75.40 on Monday. 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 12 month low of $61.90 and a 12 month high of $95.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.47. The stock has a market cap of $49.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.34 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 20th were issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. 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 is 56.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. UBS Group downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Sempra and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays downgraded Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six 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 MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sempra news, 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 value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 4,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.23, for a total value of $343,114.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,408,786.94. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.