Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Shares Acquired by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 46.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Sempra were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity at Sempra

In other Sempra news, Director Richard J. Mark acquired 1,925 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,597.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,983.98. 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 bought 1,925 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $77.97 per share, with a total value of $150,092.25. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 5,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,597.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 1.6 %

SRE stock traded down $1.25 on Thursday, hitting $76.08. 388,934 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,012,856. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.39. Sempra has a twelve month low of $63.75 and a twelve month high of $78.83. 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 (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 firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 44.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 27th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 54.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Mizuho increased their target price on Sempra from $79.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Sempra from $79.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.86.

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.