Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Acquires 12,197 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,530,330 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,197 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.24% of Sempra worth $109,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Crestline Management LP increased its stake in Sempra by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 119,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,906,000 after purchasing an additional 14,674 shares in the last quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Sempra by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,469 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Sempra by 932.2% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 43,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 39,600 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT bought a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $9,715,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 41,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,079,000 after acquiring an additional 5,197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $75.18 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $75.36 and its 200 day moving average is $72.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.74. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 20.99% and a return on equity of 8.95%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SRE. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.10.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Peter R. Wall sold 6,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $457,927.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 14,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,357.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Sempra

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.