Intact Investment Management Inc. Buys 53,800 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 240.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 53,800 shares during the quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $5,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Sempra by 101.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,117,948 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,225,884,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra by 101.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sempra by 147.0% in the 3rd 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 stake in Sempra by 104.0% during the 3rd quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 14,416,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $980,756,000 after buying an additional 7,348,746 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sempra by 109.0% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after acquiring an additional 6,338,545 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Sempra stock traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.32. 3,161,506 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,951,422. The company has a current ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.70. The stock has a market cap of $45.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.71. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.30.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s payout ratio is 51.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.50 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total transaction of $4,063,936.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.59, for a total value of $4,063,936.89. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 10,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,983.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 50,703 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.92, for a total transaction of $3,595,856.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $141.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 122,432 shares of company stock worth $8,668,035 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.