LPL Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Plains GP Holdings by 8.1%, purchasing 58,487 shares and bringing its ownership to approximately 0.40% of the company, valued at $16.76 million.
• Analysts have mixed reviews on Plains GP, with Barclays and Citigroup lowering their price targets to $18.00, while Mizuho raised its target to $22.00 and upgraded the stock to "outperform."
• Plains GP recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 7.9%, despite a high dividend payout ratio of 205.41%.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 784,543 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,487 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.40% of Plains GP worth $16,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in Plains GP by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 12,513,005 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $229,989,000 after acquiring an additional 927,855 shares during the period. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 4,033,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $86,145,000 after purchasing an additional 80,000 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Plains GP by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 4,004,900 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $73,610,000 after buying an additional 19,900 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,167,192 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $58,213,000 after buying an additional 288,430 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Plains GP by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,932,295 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $53,896,000 after acquiring an additional 27,148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Plains GP Price Performance

Plains GP stock remained flat at $19.29 during mid-day trading on Thursday. 1,038,881 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,711,372. The business has a 50-day moving average of $19.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.73. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a one year low of $16.60 and a one year high of $22.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 36.40 and a beta of 0.70.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.9%. Plains GP's payout ratio is currently 205.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PAGP. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on Plains GP from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research restated a "peer perform" rating on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Friday, July 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.88.

Plains GP Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The company engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil and NGLs using pipelines, gathering systems, and trucks.