Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 4,082,261 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,407,154 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,082,261 shares during the quarter. Sempra comprises 0.6% of Wellington Management Group LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 0.06% of Sempra worth $3,369,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $1,535,000,000. State Street Corp raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,539,026 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Sempra in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $123,614,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at $43,956,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 63,018,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,527,944,000 after purchasing an additional 490,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This represents a 100.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total transaction of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. This represents a 16.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SRE opened at $69.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.15. Sempra has a twelve month low of $64.89 and a twelve month high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 20th will be paid a $0.645 dividend. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This represents a $2.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 58.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SRE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Barclays lowered Sempra from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $95.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.33.

Sempra Company 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.