MPLX LP $MPLX Position Increased by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in MPLX LP by 27.9%, owning a total of 111,882 shares valued at approximately $5.99 million after purchasing an additional 24,398 shares.
• MPLX reported a missed earnings estimate of $1.03 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the $1.08 anticipated by analysts, with revenue of $2.79 billion compared to expectations of $3.13 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 7.5% and a dividend payout ratio of 90.97%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,882 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,398 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in MPLX were worth $5,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in MPLX by 5.1% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 57,646 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $3,085,000 after acquiring an additional 2,796 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter valued at $231,000. State of Wyoming grew its position in MPLX by 42.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,771 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $523,000 after buying an additional 2,907 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MPLX during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in MPLX during the first quarter worth about $1,086,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

MPLX Stock Down 0.2%

MPLX stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.06. 860,464 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,591,008. MPLX LP has a twelve month low of $42.29 and a twelve month high of $54.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $50.76 and a 200-day moving average of $51.22. The company has a market cap of $51.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

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

MPLX Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MPLX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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 given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MPLX presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.89.

About MPLX

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.