Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,171 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $6,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Mplx by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,576 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Archford Capital Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Finally, Panoramic Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock opened at $53.68 on Friday. Mplx Lp has a 1 year low of $39.56 and a 1 year high of $54.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.42. The firm has a market cap of $54.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

About Mplx

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.