Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,427,850 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP $BIP

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group reduced its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 14.1% in the first quarter, selling 4.43 million shares. It still held 26.98 million shares, worth about $974.5 million, or roughly 5.83% of the company.
• Brookfield Infrastructure Partners reported strong first-quarter earnings, with EPS of $0.90 versus the $0.28 consensus estimate and revenue of $6.30 billion versus expectations of $2.13 billion. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 3.59.
• The company continues to offer a quarterly dividend of $0.455 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.8%. Wall Street remains generally positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $44.62.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (NYSE:BIP - Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN by 14.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,979,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,427,850 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 5.83% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners worth $974,488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,802,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,696,000 after purchasing an additional 195,276 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 24,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,595,000. Glenview Trust co purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the second quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 8.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 724,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,287,000 after purchasing an additional 58,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company's stock.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Down 0.1%

BIP stock opened at $37.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.97 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $37.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.96. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP has a 1-year low of $29.63 and a 1-year high of $40.32.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP - Get Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $6.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 2.54% and a net margin of 3.46%.During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.455 per share. This represents a $1.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 275.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO David Tyler Krant acquired 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.10 per share, with a total value of $55,315.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 2,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $103,415. The trade was a 115.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BIP shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $44.00) on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. National Bank Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.62.

About Brookfield Infrastructure Partners

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. NYSE: BIP is a publicly traded limited partnership that owns and operates a diversified portfolio of infrastructure assets across four core sectors: utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure. Through long-lived, regulated or contracted assets, Brookfield Infrastructure provides essential services such as electricity transmission and distribution, toll road and port operations, midstream energy logistics and fiber-based data networks.

The company's utilities division encompasses regulated electricity and gas distribution networks in North and South America, Europe and Australia, ensuring stable cash flows under current regulatory frameworks.

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