Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $30.19 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 26.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 404,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,133 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Sempra worth $30,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 101.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 24,206,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,646,750,000 after purchasing an additional 12,184,568 shares during the last quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 7,348,746 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Sempra by 147.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,360,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,926,000 after purchasing an additional 8,546,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sempra by 109.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 12,154,272 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $826,855,000 after buying an additional 6,338,545 shares during the period. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of Sempra stock opened at $67.94 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.41 and a 200-day moving average of $71.51. Sempra has a 1-year low of $63.75 and a 1-year high of $79.51. 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 market cap of $42.95 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.71.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. 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 firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Sempra’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is 51.77%.

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,145 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,105.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 57,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Diana L. Day sold 3,937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.21, for a total transaction of $280,353.77. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,145 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,292,105.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,622 shares of company stock valued at $11,089,713. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sempra from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.50 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $84.00 in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sempra has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.14.

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.