Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $2.79 Million Stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 296.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,102 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,166 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,253,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 60.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,028,514 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $72,154,000 after buying an additional 765,618 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 23.4% in the fourth 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. ING Groep NV raised its position in shares of Mplx by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,740,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $100,631,000 after acquiring an additional 480,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 170.6% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 637,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,394,000 after acquiring an additional 401,700 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target 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 lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.11.

Mplx Stock Up 0.4 %

Mplx stock opened at $42.90 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.75. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $33.93 and a 1-year high of $43.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.93%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Mplx 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.