Chickasaw Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Chickasaw Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,485,917 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 80,441 shares during the period. Mplx accounts for 11.3% of Chickasaw Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC owned about 0.54% of Mplx worth $293,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 1,040 shares during the period. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $51.34. 821,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,232. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $50.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.88. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $39.95 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The firm has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. Mplx's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. Mplx's payout ratio is currently 88.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MPLX. Raymond James boosted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.50.

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.