MML Investors Services LLC Raises Position in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Free Report) by 13.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 125,086 shares of the pipeline company's stock after buying an additional 15,102 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $2,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Energy Transfer by 12,090.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,455,613 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $244,005,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353,441 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Energy Transfer by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 38,634,018 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $756,840,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254,721 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP lifted its stake in Energy Transfer by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 23,987,750 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $469,920,000 after acquiring an additional 1,723,683 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 11,662,581 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $228,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,603 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Natixis now owns 14,619,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $286,389,000 after acquiring an additional 962,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company's stock.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ET traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $17.04. The company had a trading volume of 10,838,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,245,480. The company has a market cap of $58.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.32. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $14.60 and a 52-week high of $21.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $17.90 and a 200 day moving average of $18.51.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The pipeline company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.06). Energy Transfer had a net margin of 5.74% and a return on equity of 11.56%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.3275 per share. This represents a $1.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is 102.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Energy Transfer from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $23.00 price target on shares of Energy Transfer in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.09.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP provides energy-related services. The company owns and operates natural gas transportation pipeline, and natural gas storage facilities in Texas and Oklahoma; and approximately 20,090 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline. It also sells natural gas to electric utilities, independent power plants, local distribution and other marketing companies, and industrial end-users.