1,627 Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Purchased by Tidemark LLC

Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $122,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after buying an additional 31,334,782 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,253,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after acquiring an additional 12,184,568 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sempra by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the period. Finally, Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In other news, Director Richard J. Mark purchased 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following 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 at the SEC website. In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total value of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’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 directly owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock valued at $8,668,035. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 1.2 %

Sempra stock traded down $0.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.42. 853,545 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,018,984. Sempra has a 52-week low of $63.75 and a 52-week high of $78.83. The firm has a market cap of $48.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. 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’s 50-day moving average is $72.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.39.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Sempra’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.86.

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.