The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $71.03 Million Stake in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 849,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,276 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Sempra were worth $71,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Sempra by 10.0% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 135,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,315,000 after purchasing an additional 12,346 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Sempra by 319.5% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 196,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,980,000 after acquiring an additional 150,000 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 67,765 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 14,890 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Sempra during the first quarter worth approximately $27,338,000. 89.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sempra Stock Performance

Sempra stock opened at $94.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.07.

Sempra (NYSE:SRE) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.16). Sempra had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sempra will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Sempra

In related news, VP Trevor I. Mihalik sold 23,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.09, for a total transaction of $2,207,443.17. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,190 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,677.10. This represents a 67.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Sempra in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Sempra from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Sempra from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sempra presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.00.

About Sempra

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.