UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $363.15 Million Stock Holdings in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC cut its position in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,342,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,635 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.69% of Sempra worth $363,154,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SRE. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 2.8% during the second quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,983 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 3.5% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 1.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,742 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 4.0% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 89.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sempra in a report on Thursday, October 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $98.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Sempra in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.00.

Sempra Stock Performance

SRE stock opened at $94.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $86.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.16. Sempra has a fifty-two week low of $66.40 and a fifty-two week high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.75.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 22.63%. The business had revenue of $2.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. Sempra’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Sempra will post 4.77 EPS for the current year.

Sempra Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Sempra’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total value of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,677.10. The trade was a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company 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.