Traders Purchase Large Volume of Mplx Call Options (NYSE:MPLX)

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 7,088 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 62% compared to the average daily volume of 4,385 call options.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $49.36. 723,396 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,364. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $52.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $50.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. Mplx has a 12 month low of $39.56 and a 12 month high of $54.87.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

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Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. Mplx's payout ratio is currently 90.74%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon purchased 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th 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 period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MPLX shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut 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 stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.00.

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.