HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 6,573 Shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP – Get Rating) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 209,127 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 6,573 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Plains GP were worth $2,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAGP. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 34,820 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 4,328 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 694,183 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $8,018,000 after acquiring an additional 104,402 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Plains GP by 25.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 122,270 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after acquiring an additional 24,705 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 144,458 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Plains GP by 278.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 56,806 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 41,777 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.68% of the company’s stock.

Plains GP Price Performance

NYSE:PAGP opened at $14.10 on Tuesday. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $9.39 and a 1-year high of $14.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 1.63.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 1st were paid a $0.2675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 28th. This represents a $1.07 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.59%. Plains GP’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.27%.

Insider Activity at Plains GP

In related news, CEO Willie Cw Chiang acquired 75,000 shares of Plains GP stock in a transaction on Monday, May 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.25 per share, with a total value of $993,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 256,704 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,401,328. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $13.00 to $15.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $16.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Plains GP in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Plains GP from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plains GP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.73.

About Plains GP

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Plains GP Holdings LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and provides logistics services primarily for crude oil, natural gas liquids and natural gas through its indirect investment in Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. The firm operates through the following segments: Transportation, Facilities and Supply and Logistics.