Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Position Lifted by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV grew its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 69.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares during the quarter. Mplx makes up approximately 1.7% of ING Groep NV's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. ING Groep NV owned 0.65% of Mplx worth $294,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MPLX. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 47.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 16,637 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Mplx by 4.6% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 52,318 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the first quarter worth $275,000. Searle & CO. purchased a new stake in Mplx in the first quarter worth $224,000. Finally, Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 2.2% in the first quarter. Prevail Innovative Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 96,473 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $4,009,000 after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of Mplx stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Thursday, hitting $46.41. 1,201,381 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,860,487. 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 Lp has a 1 year low of $35.31 and a 1 year high of $47.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.65.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.24%. This is a boost from Mplx's previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPLX. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

Mplx Company 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.