Jennison Associates LLC Sells 1,985,249 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 45.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,424,454 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,985,249 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Energy Transfer worth $47,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Energy Transfer by 44.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,379,297 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $535,738,000 after purchasing an additional 10,195,768 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,491.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,175,731 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $67,020,000 after acquiring an additional 3,913,266 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Energy Transfer by 36.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 11,563,478 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $185,594,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106,631 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Energy Transfer by 45.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 9,581,762 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,787,000 after purchasing an additional 3,013,973 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Energy Transfer by 1,837.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,338,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $21,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269,778 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ET shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Energy Transfer in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “buy” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.82.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

ET opened at $20.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.69. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $13.79 and a 52-week high of $21.45.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.32. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.38% and a net margin of 5.90%. The company had revenue of $20.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This is an increase from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.85%.

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.