Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New Investment in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,170 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 13.5% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 48,333 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 5,766 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 29.8% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 24,525 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 5,624 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 3.0% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,144,404 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $50,880,000 after acquiring an additional 33,772 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 62.0% during the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,688 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 4,474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 42.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 12,236 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock opened at $53.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $39.56 and a one year high of $54.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.9565 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 90.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.00.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon purchased 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.