MPLX LP $MPLX Shares Purchased by Chelsea Counsel Co.

Key Points

• Chelsea Counsel Co. has increased its stake in Mplx LP by 66.7%, owning 25,000 shares worth approximately $1.34 million after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors, including Rossby Financial and JFS Wealth Advisors, have also made new investments in Mplx, indicating rising institutional interest in the company.
• Mplx recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 7.6%, while its earnings report revealed a miss on EPS estimates.

Chelsea Counsel Co. grew its stake in MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co.'s holdings in MPLX were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of MPLX in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter worth about $37,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter worth about $44,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $59,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

MPLX Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MPLX stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, reaching $51.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,382,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,496. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $50.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $51.17. The firm has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.74. MPLX LP has a 52-week low of $43.35 and a 52-week high of $54.87. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.13 billion. MPLX had a net margin of 35.44% and a return on equity of 30.95%. MPLX's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that MPLX LP will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MPLX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. MPLX's payout ratio is 90.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.89.

MPLX 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.