Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. $PAGP

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its stake in Plains GP by 4.0% in Q4 and now owns 9,537,077 shares (4.82%) valued at about $182.5 million.
• Plains GP declared a quarterly dividend of $0.4175 per share (payable May 15, ex-dividend May 1), implying a $1.67 annualized payout and a 7.1% yield but a high payout ratio of 129.46%, which may raise sustainability concerns.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a $21.90 target, while ratings span from Strong Buy to Sell and the stock trades around $23.58, above the consensus target.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,537,077 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 401,450 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 4.82% of Plains GP worth $182,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in Plains GP in the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. HF Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 266,276 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,097,000 after buying an additional 73,248 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 67,595 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,363,000 after buying an additional 10,948 shares during the period. Adams Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Adams Asset Advisors LLC now owns 57,753 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,105,000 after buying an additional 9,442 shares during the period. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,651 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 2,960 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PAGP shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Plains GP from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Bank of America downgraded shares of Plains GP from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho set a $23.00 target price on shares of Plains GP in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.90.

Plains GP Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $23.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.49 and a beta of 0.50. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.06. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $16.68 and a fifty-two week high of $24.75.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.1%. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 129.46%.

Plains GP Profile

Plains GP Holdings, L.P. NYSE: PAGP serves as the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., one of North America's leading energy infrastructure companies. Through its ownership of a 2% general partner interest and incentive distribution rights (IDRs), Plains GP Holdings participates in the governance and cash distribution structure of a diversified portfolio of crude oil and natural gas liquids gathering, transportation, storage, and terminaling assets.

The company's primary business activities include overseeing the strategic direction and capital allocation decisions for its affiliated midstream operations.

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