Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Stock Holdings Cut by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its stake in Mplx Lp by 4.7% during Q1 2023, leaving it with approximately 2.17 million shares valued at $116 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Mplx, with a recent downgrade from "buy" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen and an increased price target from Barclays to $53.00.
• Mplx recently announced a $0.9565 quarterly dividend, yielding 7.3% annually, with a payout ratio of 88.22%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,172,820 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 106,304 shares during the quarter. Mplx comprises 0.9% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Mplx worth $116,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $311,000. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Mplx by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 13,225 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 4th quarter worth approximately $364,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Mplx by 139.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $50.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,843,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,309,280. Mplx Lp has a fifty-two week low of $39.95 and a fifty-two week high of $54.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.46 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.60.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.05). Mplx had a net margin of 35.44% and a return on equity of 30.95%. The business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MPLX. Barclays increased their price target on Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.63.

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.