Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Purchased by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,152,201 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646,130 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 3.12% of Plains GP worth $113,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Plains GP by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Plains GP by 8,120.7% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Stock Performance

NYSE:PAGP opened at $21.36 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $21.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.70. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $17.17 and a 1-year high of $22.31. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.30 and a beta of 1.55.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Plains GP’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.12%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is currently 286.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PAGP. Barclays lifted their price objective on Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research upgraded Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Plains GP from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

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.