Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 186,193 Shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lessened its stake in shares of Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET) by 22.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 658,736 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 186,193 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Energy Transfer were worth $10,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Adirondack Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Energy Transfer in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. 38.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 123,385,650 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,686,992. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Gregory G. Mcilwain acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $313,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 591,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,270,188.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren bought 3,000,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.68 per share, for a total transaction of $47,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 123,385,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,934,686,992. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have bought 3,040,000 shares of company stock valued at $47,667,200. 3.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Energy Transfer from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Energy Transfer presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.14.

Energy Transfer Price Performance

ET stock opened at $16.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $16.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.14. Energy Transfer LP has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $16.50.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $20.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.01 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 12.74% and a net margin of 5.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.92%. Energy Transfer’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.43%.

Energy Transfer Profile

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.