Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Sold by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. decreased its holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,335 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 1,400 shares during the quarter. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Mplx were worth $1,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,852 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 2,640 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 13,225 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at $311,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.75 per share, for a total transaction of $211,000.00. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Mplx Trading Down 7.0 %

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $48.53 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $49.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.53, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. Mplx Lp has a twelve month low of $39.56 and a twelve month high of $54.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.12.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share (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 company 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 firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were paid a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.88%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.