Alpine Global Management LLC Makes New Investment in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $95,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,714 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 5,070.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $46,797,000 after purchasing an additional 958,881 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,917,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 221.9% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 643,995 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $30,822,000 after purchasing an additional 443,910 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,378,594 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $65,980,000 after buying an additional 161,901 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $52.54. 908,505 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,774,034. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $39.84 and a 12-month high of $54.87. The company has a market cap of $53.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. Raymond James increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.00.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. The trade was a 18.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mplx Profile

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.