Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Acquired by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 221.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 643,995 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 443,910 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned about 0.06% of Mplx worth $30,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Mplx by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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Mplx Stock Up 2.2 %

MPLX stock traded up $1.08 on Wednesday, hitting $51.21. 622,672 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,808,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $39.56 and a 12-month high of $54.87. The stock has a market cap of $52.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.47%. Mplx's payout ratio is 90.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

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.