Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Intact Investment Management Inc.

Intact Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 240.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,800 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sempra by 101.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 147.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 104.0% in the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,338,545 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total value of $3,595,856.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SRE stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,161,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,951,422. The company has a market capitalization of $45.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $79.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.70.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.77%.

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.