Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Makes New Investment in Sempra (NYSE:SRE)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in Sempra (NYSE:SRE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 10,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $886,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Sempra by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 18,978,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,587,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,653 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Sempra by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,940,620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,774,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539,026 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Sempra by 201.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 620,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $51,882,000 after purchasing an additional 414,406 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA acquired a new position in shares of Sempra in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,023,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Sempra by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,420,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,219,000 after purchasing an additional 393,277 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.65% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SRE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sempra in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $98.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised Sempra from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sempra from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Sempra from $99.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Sempra from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Sempra Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SRE opened at $86.01 on Friday. Sempra has a 1-year low of $66.40 and a 1-year high of $95.77. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.78.

Sempra 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.