Stephens Inc. AR Boosts Stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,483 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 1,984 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Mplx were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. ING Groep NV boosted its position in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 5,070.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $46,797,000 after purchasing an additional 958,881 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 387.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,611,000 after purchasing an additional 654,500 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 17.0% during the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,498,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $66,636,000 after purchasing an additional 217,674 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter worth $8,644,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock opened at $52.66 on Thursday. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $37.78 and a 52-week high of $54.18. The company has a market cap of $53.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $49.75 and its 200 day moving average is $46.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.27%. Mplx’s payout ratio is presently 90.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MPLX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Mplx Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.