Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 219,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,503 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $16,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SRE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,646,750,000 after buying an additional 12,184,568 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $976,926,000 after buying an additional 8,546,205 shares in the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its holdings in Sempra by 104.0% during the third quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Sempra during the fourth quarter worth $1,000,291,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Sempra in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.14.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $68.46 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.39 and a 200-day moving average of $71.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $43.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Sempra news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 34,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $2,421,677.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at $141.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.