LPL Financial LLC Acquires 58,487 Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 784,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58,487 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.40% of Plains GP worth $16,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Plains GP by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 885,873 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $18,922,000 after buying an additional 134,943 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 15.8% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 329,813 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,045,000 after acquiring an additional 44,948 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Plains GP by 434.4% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 196,584 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 159,795 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Plains GP by 70.2% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 110,504 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 45,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 27.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 80,964 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 17,333 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAGP has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Plains GP from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.88.

Plains GP Stock Performance

NYSE PAGP opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.74. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1 year low of $16.60 and a 1 year high of $22.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.21 and a beta of 0.70.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.9%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 205.41%.

About Plains GP

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.