TD Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP)

TD Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,749,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 246,690 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. owned about 1.67% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners worth $246,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 159.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 175,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,147,000 after purchasing an additional 107,821 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 129.5% in the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 680,481 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,632,000 after acquiring an additional 384,000 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 87.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 24,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,550,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,362,000 after acquiring an additional 130,371 shares during the period. 57.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Price Performance

BIP opened at $29.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 749.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.93. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. has a 12-month low of $24.84 and a 12-month high of $36.50.

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) (TSE:BIP.UN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.58. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners had a return on equity of 1.17% and a net margin of 1.64%. Equities analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.74%. This is a positive change from Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4,300.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on BIP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective 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. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. TD Securities raised their price target on Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Brookfield Infrastructure Partners from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st. One 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price 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.