Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 16,021 Shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 580,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,021 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners were worth $18,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 71,746 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,033,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the 4th quarter worth $5,306,000. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Price Performance

BIP opened at $28.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 705.30 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.15. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 1 year low of $24.84 and a 1 year high of $36.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 0.08 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 1.64% and a return on equity of 1.17%. Research analysts anticipate that Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. will post 3.45 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4,300.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BIP. Scotiabank upped their target price on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James upped 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. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.