Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) Shares Sold by Simplify Asset Management Inc.

Simplify Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Plains GP Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:PAGP) by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,272,360 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 100,000 shares during the period. Plains GP comprises about 1.1% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Simplify Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.65% of Plains GP worth $23,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Plains GP by 644.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 154,961 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 134,153 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC bought a new stake in shares of Plains GP in the first quarter worth $1,669,000. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in Plains GP by 82.7% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 921,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $16,817,000 after acquiring an additional 417,031 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Plains GP during the 2nd quarter valued at $566,000. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT grew its holdings in Plains GP by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 4,373,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $80,900,000 after acquiring an additional 53,000 shares in the last quarter. 88.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAGP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Plains GP to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 $19.00 in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Plains GP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Plains GP presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.88.

Plains GP Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAGP traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.30. The stock had a trading volume of 119,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,745,638. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.54. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. has a 1-year low of $14.93 and a 1-year high of $20.10.

Plains GP Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.3175 per share. This represents a $1.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Plains GP’s payout ratio is currently 149.41%.

Plains GP 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.