MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in MPLX LP by 80.8%, owning a total of 33,487 shares valued at approximately $1.79 million.
• MPLX reported a decrease in earnings per share to $1.03, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08, with revenues down 1.6% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, which results in an annualized dividend of $3.83, reflecting a yield of 7.6%.

Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 80.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,487 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,967 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in MPLX were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of MPLX during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MPLX during the first quarter worth $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MPLX during the first quarter worth $48,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MPLX by 32.5% in the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in MPLX during the 1st quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

MPLX Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of MPLX stock traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.41. 1,843,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,347,581. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.73. MPLX LP has a one year low of $39.95 and a one year high of $54.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $51.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.03.

MPLX (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). MPLX had a return on equity of 30.95% and a net margin of 35.44%. The firm had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. MPLX's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that MPLX LP will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MPLX Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. MPLX's dividend payout ratio is 90.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.63.

MPLX Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.