Wellington Management Group LLP Buys Shares of 497,000 Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has acquired 497,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P., valued at approximately $16.97 million, positioning itself as a new institutional investor in the company.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.545 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 6.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 81.04%.
• Despite recent challenges, including a 15.7% decline in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year, analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock, with an average price target of $35.83.

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 497,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $16,968,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EPD. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 5.0% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 41,326,613 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,410,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967,188 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,546,528 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $330,739,000 after purchasing an additional 851,188 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 5,830,088 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $182,832,000 after purchasing an additional 580,850 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 65.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,347,247 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $148,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 3.6% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 3,445,293 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $117,622,000 after purchasing an additional 119,069 shares during the last quarter. 26.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Enterprise Products Partners

In other news, Director John R. Rutherford acquired 15,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William C. Montgomery acquired 16,000 shares of Enterprise Products Partners stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,319,826. This trade represents a 13.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 32.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

NYSE:EPD traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.21. 1,621,115 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,672,019. 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 $69.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.01). Enterprise Products Partners had a return on equity of 19.81% and a net margin of 10.71%.The firm had revenue of $11.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.545 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.8%. Enterprise Products Partners's payout ratio is 81.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EPD. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $33.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen raised Enterprise Products Partners from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.83.

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.