Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 42,049 Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. $PAGP

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,376,435 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 42,049 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Plains GP were worth $61,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in shares of Plains GP in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Plains GP by 56.8% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,781 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Plains GP by 36.5% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 3,030 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Plains GP by 43.2% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Plains GP during the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAGP. Mizuho set a $23.00 target price on Plains GP in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plains GP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.11.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE PAGP opened at $23.80 on Friday. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1 year low of $16.60 and a 1 year high of $24.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.18. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.91 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.