Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Bought by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,651 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sempra in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. SouthState Corp increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Down 1.2 %

SRE stock opened at $82.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $84.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.31% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.79 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 26th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on SRE. Barclays increased their price objective on Sempra from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their target price on shares of Sempra from $81.50 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Sempra from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.00.

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.