MPLX LP $MPLX Shares Acquired by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in MPLX LP by 10.4%, owning 104,362 shares worth approximately $5.58 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• MPLX reported a net margin of 35.44% and earnings per share of $1.03, missing analysts' estimates of $1.08.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, representing a yield of 7.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 90.97%.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 10.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 104,362 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,805 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in MPLX were worth $5,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MAS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of MPLX by 19.3% during the first quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 7,691 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter valued at approximately $624,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of MPLX by 768.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 316,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $16,918,000 after purchasing an additional 279,693 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of MPLX in the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MPLX by 4.1% in the first quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 10,026 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MPLX. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MPLX has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.89.

MPLX Stock Up 1.0%

MPLX stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $50.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,340,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,522,597. MPLX LP has a 52-week low of $42.06 and a 52-week high of $54.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $51.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.74.

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

MPLX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.5%. MPLX's payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

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.