Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) Shares Sold by Kovack Advisors Inc.

Kovack Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,117 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 14,235 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Energy Transfer by 12.9% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 75,353,994 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,400,831,000 after acquiring an additional 8,613,645 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $756,840,000 after buying an additional 5,254,721 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Energy Transfer by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 24,170,455 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $449,329,000 after buying an additional 182,705 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,776,221 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $387,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,093,381 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 16,331,220 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $319,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,512,060 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, hitting $17.73. The stock had a trading volume of 10,426,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,562,886. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.79. Energy Transfer LP has a 12-month low of $14.60 and a 12-month high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.36 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Energy Transfer's quarterly 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.45%. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is currently 99.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ET has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen began coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Cowen initiated coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Energy Transfer from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.58.

Insider Activity

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