Reaves W H & Co. Inc. Purchases 85,000 Shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX)

Key Points

• Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in MPLX by 340% in the first quarter, owning 110,000 shares worth approximately $5.89 million.
• MPLX reported $1.10 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, but its revenue of $2.89 billion fell short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9565 per share, expected to yield 7.3% annually, with a payout ratio of 88.22%.

Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MPLX LP (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 340.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,000 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 85,000 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc.'s holdings in MPLX were worth $5,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in MPLX in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MPLX during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MPLX in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. PSI Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in MPLX in the first quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

MPLX Stock Performance

NYSE:MPLX traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.46. 1,165,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,295,393. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. MPLX had a return on equity of 30.95% and a net margin of 35.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MPLX LP will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MPLX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. MPLX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MPLX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered MPLX from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on MPLX from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $55.63.

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.