Penn Mutual Asset Management Sells 6,000 Shares of Mplx Lp $MPLX

Key Points

• Penn Mutual Asset Management decreased its stake in Mplx Lp by 30.0%, now holding 13,970 shares, valued at approximately $748,000.
• During the first quarter, several hedge funds increased or established new positions in Mplx, reflecting a total institutional ownership of 24.25%.
• Mplx reported a net margin of 35.44% and missed analyst earnings estimates by $0.05, with quarterly revenue down 1.6% compared to the previous year.

Penn Mutual Asset Management trimmed its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 30.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,970 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Mplx makes up approximately 1.4% of Penn Mutual Asset Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Penn Mutual Asset Management's holdings in Mplx were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MPLX. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP raised its position in Mplx by 38.2% during the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 7,788,063 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $416,817,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,490 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Mplx by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,045,968 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $270,060,000 after purchasing an additional 654,489 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 996,777 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $53,348,000 after buying an additional 352,782 shares in the last quarter. Fractal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 18.1% during the 1st quarter. Fractal Investments LLC now owns 2,256,503 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $120,768,000 after buying an additional 345,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its stake in Mplx by 21.0% in the first quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,822,709 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $97,551,000 after buying an additional 315,747 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MPLX traded up $0.8250 on Wednesday, reaching $50.4550. The company had a trading volume of 1,046,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,627,165. The firm has a market cap of $51.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.73. 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 Lp has a fifty-two week low of $41.83 and a fifty-two week high of $54.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.50.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. Mplx's payout ratio is presently 90.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MPLX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.11.

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.