M&T Bank Corp Invests $2.02 Million in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

M&T Bank Corp bought a new position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 45,494 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $2,023,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 450.0% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company's stock, valued at $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $48.86. The stock had a trading volume of 3,473,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,854,616. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.90. Mplx Lp has a fifty-two week low of $35.75 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.78 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This is an increase from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mplx's payout ratio is currently 90.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. StockNews.com cut Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.44.

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.