Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 75,249 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. by 1.3% in Q1, now holding 5,754,839 shares valued at approximately $196.47 million, making it their 6th largest holding.
• Enterprise Products Partners declared a quarterly dividend of $0.545 per share, a slight increase from the previous dividend of $0.54, yielding about 7.0% annually.
• Recent analyst ratings are mixed, with Citigroup lowering its target price to $35.00 while Argus upgraded the stock to a "strong-buy" rating, indicating ongoing interest amid fluctuating evaluations.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,754,839 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 75,249 shares during the period. Enterprise Products Partners accounts for about 1.5% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned 0.27% of Enterprise Products Partners worth $196,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Enterprise Products Partners by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 32,620 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 5,425 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 24,937 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 362,183 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $11,358,000 after purchasing an additional 123,170 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 168,559 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,286,000 after purchasing an additional 11,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 55.4% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Enterprise Products Partners Price Performance

Shares of EPD opened at $31.04 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a fifty-two week low of $27.37 and a fifty-two week high of $34.63. The company has a market cap of $67.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.00.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.67 by ($0.01). Enterprise Products Partners had a net margin of 10.71% and a return on equity of 19.88%. The company had revenue of $11.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Enterprise Products Partners L.P. will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.545 dividend. This represents a $2.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.0%. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Enterprise Products Partners's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.04%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EPD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Enterprise Products Partners from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Argus raised shares of Enterprise Products Partners to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Enterprise Products Partners from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Enterprise Products Partners has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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