Mplx Lp $MPLX Holdings Trimmed by CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Key Points

• Cushing Asset Management trimmed its MPLX stake by 1.3% in the first quarter, selling 24,700 shares and leaving it with 1,859,100 shares worth about $106.1 million.
• Wall Street remains cautiously positive on MPLX, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.60 despite a mix of upgrades and downgrades.
• Operationally, MPLX posted mixed results: its latest quarter missed earnings and revenue estimates, but the partnership still pays a high dividend, yielding about 7.5% annually.

CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT reduced its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,859,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 24,700 shares during the quarter. Mplx comprises about 5.3% of CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT owned approximately 0.18% of Mplx worth $106,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Belfer Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,849 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,736 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $520,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 12,598 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $672,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 5,658 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. raised its holdings in Mplx by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 17,449 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $931,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Mplx from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research raised Mplx from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Mplx from a "buy (a)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $61.60.

Mplx Stock Performance

Shares of MPLX opened at $57.20 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $58.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.47. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $47.80 and a 52-week high of $59.98.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.38% and a return on equity of 32.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.29%.

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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