Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Buys 3,714 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 31.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Sempra were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Sempra by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA bought a new position in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth $33,023,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,219,000 after acquiring an additional 393,277 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total transaction of $4,125,186.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.64 on Wednesday. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.47 and its 200 day moving average is $84.66. The company has a market capitalization of $46.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SRE has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.54.

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.