Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,792 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Mplx were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MPLX. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Mplx by 139.6% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Mplx by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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, Wall Street Zen cut Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.50.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $51.34. 821,673 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,675,313. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.88. The company has a market cap of $52.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $39.95 and a 12-month high of $54.87.

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

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid 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 of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is presently 88.22%.

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.