Sempra (NYSE:SRE) Stake Boosted by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sempra (NYSE:SRE) by 65.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 139,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,305 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Sempra were worth $12,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sempra by 633.4% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,624,000 after buying an additional 25,838 shares during the period. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in Sempra in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,023,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Sempra by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,428,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $286,695,000 after acquiring an additional 278,183 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Sempra by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 357,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,865,000 after acquiring an additional 6,709 shares during the period. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC purchased a new position in Sempra during the 3rd quarter valued at about $675,000. 89.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SRE shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Sempra Stock Performance

Shares of SRE opened at $87.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $55.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.31 and its 200-day moving average is $84.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Sempra has a 12 month low of $66.40 and a 12 month high of $95.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Alexander Lisa Larroque sold 2,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.93, for a total value of $225,717.15. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,139,236.65. The trade was a 16.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 49,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.94, for a total value of $4,125,186.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165.88. This trade represents a 100.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.