Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 2,283,889 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs reduced its stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. by 10.7%, now owning 18,968,518 shares valued at approximately $647.6 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC, have increased their positions in Enterprise Products Partners, with increases of 19.9% and 4.5% respectively.
• Enterprise Products recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.545, up from $0.54, representing a 7.0% yield for investors.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,968,518 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 2,283,889 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.88% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $647,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Monday, July 7th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Argus raised Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $38.00 price target on Enterprise Products Partners and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $36.25.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

Enterprise Products Partners stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.46. 5,434,247 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,774,363. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 12 month low of $27.77 and a 12 month high of $34.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.66.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $11.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.545 per share. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is currently 81.04%.

About Enterprise Products Partners

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.