10,240 Shares in MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX) Purchased by Plan Group Financial LLC

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC has acquired over 10,000 shares of MPLX LP, valued at approximately $548,000, according to its recent SEC filing.
• Analysts have set a new average target price of $55.63 for MPLX, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," following various changes in analyst ratings.
• MPLX has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, resulting in a 7.3% dividend yield for investors, with the ex-dividend date set for August 8th.

Plan Group Financial LLC bought a new stake in MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,240 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of MPLX by 4.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Bramshill Investments LLC raised its position in shares of MPLX by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC now owns 30,130 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 12,556 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $30,822,000 after acquiring an additional 443,910 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in MPLX by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 108,988 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $5,833,000 after buying an additional 15,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its position in MPLX by 18.4% during the 1st quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 35,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 5,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MPLX. Barclays upped their target price on MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.63.

MPLX Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,722,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,263,086. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market cap of $52.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.73. MPLX LP has a 12 month low of $39.95 and a 12 month high of $54.87.

MPLX (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. MPLX had a return on equity of 31.04% and a net margin of 35.44%. The business's revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.15 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. MPLX's payout ratio is 88.45%.

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.