Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 52-Week High at $43.00

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $43.00 and last traded at $42.92, with a volume of 114230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.59.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $43.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 31.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.96%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.63%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,463,737 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $237,348,000 after acquiring an additional 154,529 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,224,918 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $217,148,000 after acquiring an additional 255,211 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,200,759 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $216,144,000 after buying an additional 201,500 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $111,200,000 after buying an additional 574,737 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV increased its stake in Mplx by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,740,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $100,631,000 after buying an additional 480,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids; gathering, storage, transportation, and distribution of crude oil and refined products, as well as other hydrocarbon-based products and renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.