Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 18,947 Shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,947 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $7,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Sempra during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Sempra by 265.2% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Sempra in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 225.6% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 433 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of SRE stock opened at $70.22 on Tuesday. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $64.89 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.49.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. Sempra’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 20th will be given a dividend of $0.645 per share. This represents a $2.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 20th. This is a positive change from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SRE. Mizuho reduced their target price on Sempra from $92.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim dropped their target price on shares of Sempra from $95.00 to $87.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Sempra from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $95.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Sempra from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Sempra from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sempra currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.58.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other news, Director Cynthia J. Warner acquired 700 shares of Sempra stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.65 per share, with a total value of $49,455.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $618,823.35. This trade represents a 8.69 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael N. Mears acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $67.70 per share, with a total value of $67,700.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $338,500. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 9,319 shares of company stock valued at $651,676. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.