Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 19,398 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,684 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,398 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners were worth $7,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 9.3% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 538,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,838,000 after buying an additional 45,880 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 56,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 9,592 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the third quarter valued at $206,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the third quarter worth $219,000. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 7.7% in the third quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 419,267 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,326,000 after purchasing an additional 29,945 shares during the last quarter. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on BIP shares. National Bank Financial downgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $37.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.20.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Down 0.8 %

BIP stock opened at $29.96 on Wednesday. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a twelve month low of $21.03 and a twelve month high of $37.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.82 billion, a PE ratio of 96.65 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.82.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio is presently 522.58%.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Profile

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.