Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Position in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP - Free Report) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,948,431 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 34,937 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 5.04% of Plains GP worth $182,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PAGP. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,918 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $11,857,000 after purchasing an additional 93,643 shares during the last quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC acquired a new stake in Plains GP during the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Plains GP by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 8,218,030 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $151,047,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629,008 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its stake in Plains GP by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 78,442 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 34,633 shares during the period. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Plains GP by 144.2% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 35,812 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 21,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PAGP shares. StockNews.com downgraded Plains GP from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Plains GP from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Plains GP from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Plains GP from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Plains GP presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $20.78.

Plains GP Stock Up 6.0 %

Plains GP stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $18.29. 3,165,195 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,590,972. The company's 50-day moving average is $20.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.01. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 52-week low of $16.61 and a 52-week high of $22.31. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51 and a beta of 1.11.

Plains GP Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.31%. Plains GP's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 286.79%.

About Plains GP

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.