Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. $PAGP

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,902,032 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 404,097 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 3.49% of Plains GP worth $132,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter worth about $3,088,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 156,306 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,992,000 after buying an additional 25,321 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 835,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $15,998,000 after buying an additional 105,448 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 314,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after buying an additional 84,042 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 3,725,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $71,296,000 after buying an additional 140,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Plains GP stock opened at $24.46 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.15 and a beta of 0.46. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $16.68 and a fifty-two week high of $26.15.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.4175 per share. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Plains GP’s payout ratio is presently 172.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PAGP shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Plains GP from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Plains GP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Plains GP from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $18.00 to $24.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Plains GP from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.64.

Plains GP Company 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.