Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Purchases 179,431 Shares of Mplx Lp $MPLX

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in MPLX by 47.3%, purchasing 179,431 shares to hold 558,737 shares worth about $29.82 million (0.05% of the company) at quarter-end.
• MPLX pays a $1.0765 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.31) for a yield of roughly 7.4% and has a high dividend payout ratio of about 89.4%, signaling an attractive yield but limited payout cushion.
• Recent results and analyst view: MPLX beat EPS estimates ($1.17 vs. $1.10) and reported strong revenue, trades at a P/E of 12.06 with a ~$59B market cap, and carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a target of $61.56.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 47.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 558,737 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 179,431 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC owned 0.05% of Mplx worth $29,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 4.1% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,049 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,557 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Mplx by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 12,920 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 68,278 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $3,517,000 after buying an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new stake in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $362,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Trading Down 1.4%

MPLX stock opened at $58.14 on Friday. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $44.60 and a 1-year high of $59.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The business's 50 day moving average is $57.28 and its 200-day moving average is $53.93. The firm has a market cap of $59.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.4%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MPLX. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (a-)" rating on shares of Mplx in a research report on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Truist Financial began coverage on Mplx in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Mplx from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.56.

Mplx Profile

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership's asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.

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