Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 65.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,965 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 16,136 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $1,399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in EPD. Tidemark LLC raised its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. Tidemark LLC now owns 904 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 1,014 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $36.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.67.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Performance

NYSE:EPD traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.46. The company had a trading volume of 3,975,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,416,960. The business's 50 day moving average price is $30.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 1-year low of $27.37 and a 1-year high of $34.63. The firm has a market cap of $68.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.65.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.05). Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $15.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.80%. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is currently 80.15%.

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.