Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 125,484 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP - Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN by 41.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,812 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 125,484 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners were worth $5,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 33,330 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,119 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 57.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on BIP shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $44.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of BIP traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $27.97. 2,578,970 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 440,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $12.99 billion, a PE ratio of 699.47 and a beta of 1.04. The firm's 50 day moving average is $29.89 and its 200-day moving average is $32.28. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $25.72 and a 52 week high of $36.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP - Get Free Report) TSE: BIP.UN last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 1.64%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. This is a boost from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners's dividend payout ratio is 4,300.00%.

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.