Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires 128,847 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,847 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.05% of Sempra worth $2,870,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sempra by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Sempra by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sempra by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich lifted its position in shares of Sempra by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 12,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, Conning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 3.8% during the second quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,184 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $90.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $87.44 and a 200 day moving average of $81.66. Sempra has a 1 year low of $66.40 and a 1 year high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sempra in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.91.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.