National Bank of Canada FI Makes New Investment in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in Mplx by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,971,331 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $94,348,000 after purchasing an additional 37,845 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Mplx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $75,054,000 after buying an additional 17,900 shares in the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,506,962 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 8,166 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake 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 worth $46,797,000 after buying an additional 958,881 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,917,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Trading Up 1.3 %

Mplx stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.79. 366,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,807,770. Mplx Lp has a 12 month low of $39.56 and a 12 month high of $54.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $52.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11.

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Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The firm's revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.