Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stake Lowered by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 312,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,663 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Sempra were worth $27,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Sempra by 265.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Sempra by 225.6% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cynthia J. Warner bought 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $70.65 per share, for a total transaction of $49,455.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $618,823.35. This represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of SRE opened at $70.76 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 12-month low of $64.89 and a 12-month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

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.