BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $68.38 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 117.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 952,003 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 513,789 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Sempra were worth $68,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 119,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,906,000 after acquiring an additional 14,674 shares during the period. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Sempra by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,469 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 932.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 39,600 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $9,715,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in Sempra by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,079,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SRE shares. Mizuho raised their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $457,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,357.57. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark bought 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,498,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,925. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The company has a market capitalization of $47.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.02.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

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.