Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,161,564 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 262,890 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Energy Transfer worth $40,183,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Energy Transfer during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. 38.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ET. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Energy Transfer in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $22.58.

Energy Transfer Trading Up 0.1%

Energy Transfer stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $17.35. 3,976,541 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,571,482. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a market capitalization of $59.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.79. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $17.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.03. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.47% and a net margin of 5.88%. The company had revenue of $21.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. Energy Transfer's revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.3275 dividend. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.55%. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Energy Transfer's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 99.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Richard Perry sold 1,369 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.48, for a total transaction of $25,299.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 24,523 shares in the company, valued at $453,185.04. This represents a 5.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Energy Transfer Company Profile

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.