Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $16.38 Million Stock Position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 219,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,503 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sempra were worth $16,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WFA of San Diego LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 29.9% during the third quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $166,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake in Sempra by 100.0% during the third quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 68,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,673,000 after buying an additional 34,348 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC raised its stake in Sempra by 93.7% during the third quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Sempra by 114.4% in the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 32,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 17,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausbil Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Sempra by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 172,129 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,863,000 after purchasing an additional 20,469 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Sempra Stock Up 0.8 %

Sempra stock opened at $68.46 on Friday. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $63.75 and a fifty-two week high of $79.51. The stock has a market cap of $43.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $70.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.54.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sempra had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sempra will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Sempra from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of Sempra in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sempra from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Sempra from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $76.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sempra currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sempra

In other Sempra news, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total value of $360,586.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at $1,403,888.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, 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 link. Also, EVP Justin Christopher Bird sold 5,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.22, for a total transaction of $360,586.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,888.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 156,622 shares of company stock worth $11,089,713 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.