Northern Trust Corp Has $1.74 Million Stock Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,418 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 18,378 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in Mplx were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 38,506 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,705 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 9,134.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 11,509 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 5,070.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 977,794 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $46,797,000 after acquiring an additional 958,881 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 221.9% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 643,995 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $30,822,000 after acquiring an additional 443,910 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Mplx by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,520 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 5,965 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPLX. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.50.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $51.07. 1,329,620 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,709,106. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $50.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $52.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $39.95 and a one year high of $54.87.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Mplx's payout ratio is currently 88.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Mplx Profile

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.