Wealth Alliance Increases Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Wealth Alliance increased its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,155 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Mplx were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Mplx during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX opened at $39.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $40.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.71. The company has a market cap of $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.35.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.15. Mplx had a net margin of 34.82% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. Mplx’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.52%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.86.

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.