Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 8,768 Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 249.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,284 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 8,768 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Plains GP were worth $224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 109,187 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 5,408 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 67,088 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth $406,000. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Plains GP by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 42,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth $245,000. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Plains GP stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,922,414 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,381. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 12-month low of $14.71 and a 12-month high of $20.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.68 and its 200-day moving average is $18.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.70 and a beta of 1.54.

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The pipeline company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.05). Plains GP had a net margin of 0.35% and a return on equity of 1.15%. The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.72 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Plains GP Holdings, L.P. will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.3175 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.69%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 144.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PAGP. UBS Group raised their price target on Plains GP from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Plains GP from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Plains GP from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plains GP currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.11.

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.