Virtu Financial LLC Grows Position in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. by 107.7%, acquiring an additional 37,705 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 72,725 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• Enterprise Products Partners recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.54 to $0.545, providing a yield of 6.9% for investors.
• Despite reporting earnings of $0.66 per share, Enterprise Products Partners missed analysts' expectations of $0.67, and its quarterly revenue fell 15.7% compared to last year.

Virtu Financial LLC grew its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 107.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 37,705 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $2,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Security National Bank acquired a new position in Enterprise Products Partners in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Enterprise Products Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 55.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 44.9% during the 4th 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. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Enterprise Products Partners in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

EPD stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $31.33. 3,439,510 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,767,681. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $67.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $31.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.91.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 during 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Enterprise Products Partners

In other news, Director William C. Montgomery bought 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $31.55 per share, for a total transaction of $504,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 136,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,319,826. The trade was a 13.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $31.35 per share, with a total value of $470,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 158,586 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,671.10. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 32.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Mizuho set a $38.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.25.

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.