Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in MPLX LP by 14.9%, now owning over 5 million shares valued at approximately $270 million.
• MPLX reported a missed earnings estimate for the last quarter, posting earnings per share of $1.03 compared to the expected $1.08, along with a year-over-year revenue decline of 1.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, reflecting a 7.7% dividend yield, with an upcoming payment date scheduled for August 15th.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,045,968 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 654,489 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.49% of Mplx worth $270,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 11.4% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,751 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 793 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Mplx by 17.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 542,089 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $29,013,000 after buying an additional 80,245 shares during the period. Wambolt & Associates LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in Mplx by 105.5% during the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 42,775 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,289,000 after buying an additional 21,961 shares during the period. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Mplx by 2.6% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 319,121 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $17,079,000 after acquiring an additional 8,178 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MPLX shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.11.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.14 on Friday, hitting $50.02. 2,088,463 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,517,815. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $41.80 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $51.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. Mplx's payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

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.