Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC Sells 439,022 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Key Points

• Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC significantly reduced its stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P., selling 439,022 shares during the second quarter, resulting in a 62.3% decrease in their holdings.
• Insider purchasing activity was observed, with Director John R. Rutherford acquiring 15,000 shares and Director William C. Montgomery buying 16,000 shares, indicating confidence in the company's stock.
• Enterprise Products Partners announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.545, providing shareholders with a yield of 6.9%, while experiencing a 15.7% year-over-year decline in revenue.

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC lowered its position in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 62.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 265,978 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 439,022 shares during the quarter. Enterprise Products Partners accounts for approximately 4.8% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC's holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $8,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,535 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 14,834 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,846 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 115,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,597,000 after purchasing an additional 22,354 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 16,163 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford bought 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owned 158,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,671.10. This trade represents a 10.45% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William C. Montgomery bought 16,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $31.55 per share, with a total value of $504,800.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 32.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EPD opened at $31.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $27.77 and a fifty-two week high of $34.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.65. The company has a market cap of $68.75 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.69.

Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE:EPD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.81%. The business had revenue of $11.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Enterprise Products Partners's quarterly revenue was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.545 dividend. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.9%. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is currently 81.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EPD shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price 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. TD Cowen started 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho set a $38.00 target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Enterprise Products Partners currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $35.83.

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.

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