BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Purchases 3,528 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 36.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,528 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Sempra were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in Sempra by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 10,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Sempra by 3.4% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 2,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,854,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in Sempra by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 18,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sempra Trading Up 0.1 %

SRE stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $75.62. The company had a trading volume of 230,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,985,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Sempra has a 52 week low of $63.75 and a 52 week high of $78.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.72 and a 200 day moving average of $73.03. The company has a market cap of $47.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.95% and a net margin of 20.99%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $77.97 per share, for a total transaction of $150,092.25. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company 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.