Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 66,468 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 526,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,468 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Sempra worth $46,197,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Sempra by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,674,000. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Sempra by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC now owns 32,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 11,879 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Sempra by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,509,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,551,000 after buying an additional 173,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at $515,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director James C. Yardley bought 5,019 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $69.74 per share, with a total value of $350,025.06. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 5,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $350,025.06. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was 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 valued at $651,676 and have sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SRE shares. UBS Group lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Sempra Stock Down 6.8 %

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $65.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.87 and a 200-day moving average of $82.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. Sempra has a 12 month low of $64.89 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. 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 company posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

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.