Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,774,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,585 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $243,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in Sempra by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,407,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,352,000 after buying an additional 45,884 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 8.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 132.7% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $577,000 after acquiring an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Sempra by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Sempra by 177.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 31,542 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

NYSE SRE opened at $76.46 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 fifty-two week low of $61.90 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.34 and a 200-day moving average of $80.27. The stock has a market cap of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.63.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.44 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.34 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 56.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SRE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 8,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $595,193.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,260,117.94. This represents a 32.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.