Fmr LLC Increases Stock Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

FMR LLC raised its holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 141.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,161,714 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 0.19% of Mplx worth $95,011,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 5,070.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $46,797,000 after acquiring an additional 958,881 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth about $41,917,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Mplx by 368.0% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 188,057 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $9,000,000 after purchasing an additional 147,872 shares during the period. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 479.6% in the 4th quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 153,600 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $7,351,000 after purchasing an additional 127,100 shares during the period. Finally, TrueMark Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,394,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Trading Down 2.5 %

MPLX stock traded down $1.27 during trading on Monday, hitting $49.30. 1,773,655 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,784,369. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $52.12 and a 200-day moving average of $49.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.41 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. Mplx Lp has a 1 year low of $39.84 and a 1 year high of $54.87.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.76%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James lifted 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 research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.