Northern Trust Corp Purchases 279,693 Shares of MPLX LP $MPLX

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in MPLX LP by 768.0%, acquiring a total of 316,111 shares worth approximately $16.9 million.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for MPLX, with target price increases from firms like Stifel Nicolaus and Morgan Stanley, suggesting a potential for growth while some lower-rated MPLX to hold.
• MPLX recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 7.5% and a payout ratio of 90.97%.

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 768.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 316,111 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 279,693 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in MPLX were worth $16,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in MPLX during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MPLX during the first quarter valued at $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MPLX during the first quarter worth $48,000. PSI Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of MPLX by 32.5% in the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in shares of MPLX in the first quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPLX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays raised their price objective 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 lowered MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of MPLX from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.89.

MPLX Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $50.97 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $50.84 and its 200 day moving average is $51.33. MPLX LP has a one year low of $42.06 and a one year high of $54.87. The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

MPLX (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that MPLX LP will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

MPLX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. MPLX's payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

MPLX Company 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.

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