Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,027,273 Shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. $EPD

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE:EPD) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,697,380 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,027,273 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Enterprise Products Partners were worth $146,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Uptick Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 13,956 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,204 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Enterprise Products Partners by 8.6% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 4,182,229 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $130,778,000 after buying an additional 331,066 shares during the last quarter. Lee Financial Co grew its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 22.3% during the third quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 63,043 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 11,492 shares during the period. Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Enterprise Products Partners by 18.5% during the third quarter. Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 106,150 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,319,000 after buying an additional 16,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Advisors Inc. raised its position in Enterprise Products Partners by 3.9% in the third quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 53,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. 26.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EPD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Friday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a report on Monday, December 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Monday, January 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $33.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Enterprise Products Partners in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Enterprise Products Partners from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.77.

Enterprise Products Partners Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE EPD opened at $33.10 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.42 and its 200 day moving average is $31.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Enterprise Products Partners L.P. has a 12 month low of $27.77 and a 12 month high of $34.53. The stock has a market cap of $71.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Enterprise Products Partners Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Enterprise Products Partners’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Enterprise Products Partners’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 83.02%.

Enterprise Products Partners declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas producer to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Rutherford purchased 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.09 per share, for a total transaction of $481,350.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 173,586 shares in the company, valued at $5,570,374.74. This trade represents a 9.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 32.60% of the company’s stock.

About Enterprise Products Partners

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) is a Houston-based master limited partnership that provides midstream energy services across North America. The company owns and operates an extensive network of pipelines, storage facilities, processing plants and export terminals that transport and handle natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil and refined and petrochemical products. Its core activities include gathering and transportation, fractionation of NGLs, natural gas processing, crude oil and condensate pipelines, and marine and terminal services that enable domestic distribution and exports.

Enterprise serves a diverse set of customers including producers, refiners, petrochemical companies, marketers and end users.