Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 2,283,889 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. by 10.7%, now owning approximately 18.97 million shares valued at about $647.58 million.
• Enterprise Products Partners recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.545 per share, reflecting a 6.9% dividend yield, an increase from its previous quarterly dividend.
• Various investment firms have adjusted their price targets for Enterprise Products Partners, with the consensus recommendation being a "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.83.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 0.87% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $647,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 41,326,613 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,410,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967,188 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 11,003,573 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $375,662,000 after purchasing an additional 457,045 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,830,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $182,832,000 after purchasing an additional 580,850 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 65.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,347,247 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $148,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,445,293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $117,622,000 after purchasing an additional 119,069 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EPD traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.68. The company had a trading volume of 3,111,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,628,313. The business's 50-day moving average is $31.54 and its 200 day moving average is $31.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.96. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 52 week low of $27.77 and a 52 week high of $34.63. The company has a market cap of $68.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $11.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.24 billion. Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 10.71%.The company's revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on EPD. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. TD Cowen started coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Monday, July 7th. They set a "hold" rating and a $33.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.83.

Insider Activity at Enterprise Products Partners

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

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.