Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Stock Holdings Boosted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 274,522 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,704 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Plains GP were worth $5,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,363 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Plains GP by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 86,863 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,634 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 748 shares in the last quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. ELCO Management Co. LLC now owns 33,954 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Plains GP by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 78,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,434,000 after acquiring an additional 953 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Plains GP Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PAGP opened at $17.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.68. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 52 week low of $16.61 and a 52 week high of $22.31. 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 company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 1.11.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.51%. Plains GP’s payout ratio is currently 286.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAGP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Plains GP from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.83.

Plains GP Company Profile

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.