Schroder Investment Management Group Acquires 146,751 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 546,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 146,751 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.09% of Sempra worth $47,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. L & S Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 52.6% in the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 41,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,649,000 after acquiring an additional 14,338 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $10,586,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in Sempra in the 4th quarter worth $1,662,000. Maridea Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of Sempra by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 337,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,629,000 after buying an additional 7,395 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Price Performance

SRE opened at $71.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.07. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s payout ratio is currently 58.37%.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,139,236.65. This trade represents a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165.88. The trade was a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 9,319 shares of company stock worth $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SRE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $95.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.33.

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.