IFG Advisory LLC Sells 20,918 Shares of Mplx Lp $MPLX

Key Points

• IFG Advisory LLC reduced its stake in MPLX by 70.3%, selling 20,918 shares in the third quarter and now holds 8,838 shares worth about $441,000, per its latest 13F filing.
• MPLX beat on EPS with $1.17 for the quarter (vs. $1.10 est.) but missed slightly on revenue, and it pays a quarterly dividend of $1.0765 (annualized yield ~7.3%) with a payout ratio around 89%.
• Wall Street’s view is mixed but the consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target of $58.14, while the stock trades near its 52‑week high (~$59.84).

IFG Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 70.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,838 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 20,918 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Mplx were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 26,409,654 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,319,162,000 after buying an additional 325,451 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 9,873,619 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $508,590,000 after acquiring an additional 757,569 shares during the last quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC now owns 5,611,824 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $280,311,000 after acquiring an additional 120,216 shares during the period. Energy Income Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC now owns 5,541,795 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $285,458,000 after acquiring an additional 236,932 shares during the period. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY boosted its stake in Mplx by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 2,258,674 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $112,821,000 after acquiring an additional 18,538 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mplx from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Mplx from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.14.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $58.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.14. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $44.60 and a 52-week high of $59.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.64 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.56.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.42%.

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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