Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP - Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 693,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $22,033,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.15% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BIP. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 159.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 175,434 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,147,000 after buying an additional 107,821 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 129.5% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 680,481 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $21,632,000 after acquiring an additional 384,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 87.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 24,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 11,217 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,550,270 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,362,000 after acquiring an additional 130,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company's stock.

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Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of BIP traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 710,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 487,525. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The firm has a market cap of $13.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 737.13 and a beta of 1.10. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $24.84 and a 1-year high of $36.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP - Get Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 1.17%. As a group, research analysts predict that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's payout ratio is presently 4,300.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BIP. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities raised their price objective on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $42.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Company Profile

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,900 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 8.1 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 0.6 million long-term contracted sub-metering services.