Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 133.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,500 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Sempra were worth $13,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,624,000 after purchasing an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth $675,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Sempra by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,071,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,956,000 after acquiring an additional 26,821 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $65.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $42.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. Sempra has a 52 week low of $64.89 and a 52 week high of $95.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SRE has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Argus lowered Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, 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 owned by corporate insiders.

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.