Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 70.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,666,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,758,037 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.05% of Sempra worth $584,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,535,000,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,369,076,000 after acquiring an additional 4,082,261 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,489,918 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,797,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511,313 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the fourth quarter worth $123,614,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $43,956,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE opened at $63.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.57. Sempra has a 52-week low of $61.90 and a 52-week high of $95.77. The company has a market cap of $41.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.07, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. Sempra’s payout ratio is presently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, Director Michael N. Mears bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,700.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $338,500. This trade represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 and sold 57,309 shares valued at $4,694,019. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.