Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $100.28 Million Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,143,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,941 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $100,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sempra during the third quarter worth $81,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Sempra during the 3rd quarter worth $466,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Sempra by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 881,364 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,708,000 after purchasing an additional 13,077 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Sempra by 45.2% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 31,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 9,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 0.7% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 41,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SRE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus downgraded Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $77.00 price target (down previously from $96.00) on shares of Sempra in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.33.

Insider Activity at Sempra

In related news, 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 value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $70.15 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.54 and its 200 day moving average is $83.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Sempra has a one year low of $64.89 and a one year high of $95.77.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.76 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

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.