Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $55.00 to $58.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Mplx traded as high as $54.87 and last traded at $54.67, with a volume of 1884647 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.33.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 56.3% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Mplx by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Price Performance

The company's fifty day moving average is $52.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. 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 data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Mplx's revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx's payout ratio is presently 90.74%.

Mplx Company 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.