Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) VP Sells $188,960.00 in Stock

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Mplx Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $47.58 on Thursday. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $35.51 and a 12-month high of $47.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.47 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.04%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s payout ratio is 90.33%.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 7.4% during the third quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,488,000 after purchasing an additional 19,320 shares during the period. ING Groep NV raised its position in Mplx by 69.8% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Mplx by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 51,740 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,150,000 after acquiring an additional 16,637 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 81,884 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $3,487,000 after acquiring an additional 14,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 27.2% in the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 52,128 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,318,000 after acquiring an additional 11,144 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MPLX shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

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.