Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MPLX LP by 15.6% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 10,544 shares and bringing its total holdings to 78,124 shares valued at approximately $4.18 million.
• Barclays has raised its price target for MPLX shares from $52.00 to $53.00 and assigned an "overweight" rating, reflecting an overall positive outlook with an average target price estimate of $55.63.
• MPLX recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 7.40%, with a payout ratio currently at 88.45%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 15.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,124 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,544 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Mplx were worth $4,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,904,477 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $330,448,000 after purchasing an additional 266,998 shares in the last quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC now owns 30,130 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,442,000 after acquiring an additional 12,556 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 221.9% in the fourth 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. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Mplx by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 18,520 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 5,965 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 17.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 108,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,833,000 after acquiring an additional 15,807 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.63.

Mplx Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.69. 700,776 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,611,452. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $51.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.58. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $39.95 and a one year high of $54.87. The company has a market cap of $52.76 billion, a PE ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.73.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.34% and a return on equity of 32.08%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Mplx's payout ratio is presently 88.45%.

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.