Independent Financial Group LLC Invests $547,000 in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. $PAGP

Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 22,510 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $547,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its position in shares of Plains GP by 36.5% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 314,420 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $6,018,000 after acquiring an additional 84,042 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Plains GP by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 835,817 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $15,998,000 after purchasing an additional 105,448 shares during the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its holdings in Plains GP by 25.8% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 1,421,518 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $34,514,000 after purchasing an additional 291,397 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Plains GP by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 266,276 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $5,097,000 after purchasing an additional 73,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Plains GP by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 2,829,953 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $54,165,000 after purchasing an additional 163,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PAGP opened at $26.21 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.15. 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 Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $16.68 and a 1-year high of $26.30.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.4175 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.4%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is 172.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAGP. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. US Capital Advisors downgraded shares of Plains GP from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Plains GP from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.36.

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.