Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $54.00

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $54.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $47.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $46.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.08. The company has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx has a fifty-two week low of $36.27 and a fifty-two week high of $51.94.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during 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 company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.09%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ING Groep NV grew its stake in Mplx by 69.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792,822 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 387.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $36,611,000 after purchasing an additional 654,500 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $631,435,000 after purchasing an additional 353,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its holdings in Mplx by 17.0% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,498,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $66,636,000 after purchasing an additional 217,674 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.