Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Purchases 14,336 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. by 0.7%, making it the fund's 4th largest position with approximately $68.4 million invested.
• Despite recent adjustments, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock, with an average price target of $36.25.
• Enterprise Products Partners announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.545 per share, marking a 7.0% dividend yield for shareholders.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,002,619 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 14,336 shares during the quarter. Enterprise Products Partners makes up about 2.3% of Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC owned 0.09% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $68,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EPD. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 32,620 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,937 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 51.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 362,183 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,358,000 after purchasing an additional 123,170 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 168,559 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 11,626 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,010 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Argus upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.25.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

EPD stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $31.46. 5,434,247 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,556,419. The company has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.66. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 52-week low of $27.77 and a 52-week high of $34.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $11.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.24 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.88%. Enterprise Products Partners's revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.545 dividend. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Enterprise Products Partners news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.35 per share, for a total transaction of $470,250.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 158,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,971,671.10. The trade was a 10.45% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William C. Montgomery purchased 16,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $31.55 per share, for a total transaction of $504,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 136,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,319,826. This represents a 13.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 32.60% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Company Profile

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. It operates in four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.