Mplx Lp $MPLX Shares Acquired by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lifted its holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,660 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,995 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Mplx were worth $8,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $134,319,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,763,110 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $307,577,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 8.3% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,873,619 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $508,590,000 after acquiring an additional 757,569 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Mplx in the second quarter valued at $16,988,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Mplx by 4.4% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,060,024 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $352,648,000 after purchasing an additional 300,321 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.47 on Tuesday, hitting $57.44. 251,749 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,822,503. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $47.80 and a 1-year high of $59.98. The company has a market capitalization of $58.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.92 and its 200 day moving average is $56.06.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 36.38%.Mplx’s revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Mplx from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Mplx from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.