Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases New Shares in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 355,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,880,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA owned 0.06% of Sempra 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 SRE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Sempra by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,324,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,870,591,000 after buying an additional 128,847 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the third 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 during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 9.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,587,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,653 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Sempra by 6.9% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,452,912 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,023,228,000 after buying an additional 874,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,761,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,063,007,000 after buying an additional 145,873 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of SRE stock opened at $82.78 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.72 and a 200-day moving average of $84.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $52.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.23, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.78. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This trade represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on SRE shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Sempra from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.60.

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.