Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sempra were worth $444,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,527,944,000 after purchasing an additional 490,269 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,369,076,000 after buying an additional 4,082,261 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Sempra by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 13,072,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,143,248,000 after buying an additional 311,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Sempra by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,695,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,921,000 after acquiring an additional 129,891 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $65.89 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG 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 52-week low of $64.89 and a 52-week high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Sempra’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a $0.645 dividend. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SRE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays cut Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares worth $4,694,019. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.