Entropy Technologies LP Trims Holdings in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Entropy Technologies LP reduced its stake in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,626 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 12,426 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP's holdings in Plains GP were worth $655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Plains GP by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $151,047,000 after buying an additional 1,629,008 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter valued at about $13,848,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter valued at about $9,772,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Plains GP in the third quarter valued at about $4,013,000. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its holdings in shares of Plains GP by 114.8% in the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 370,496 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $6,810,000 after purchasing an additional 198,000 shares during the period. 88.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PAGP shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research raised Plains GP from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Plains GP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.60.

Plains GP Price Performance

PAGP stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.10. 1,135,881 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,081,784. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.82 and a beta of 1.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $20.03 and its 200 day moving average is $19.14. 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 12-month low of $16.36 and a 12-month high of $22.31.

Plains GP Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.20%. This is an increase from Plains GP's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio is currently 178.82%.

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.