True North Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC invested $482,000 in MPLX LP, purchasing 9,013 shares during the first quarter, marking a significant move by the firm.
• Following a recent earnings report, MPLX missed analyst expectations with an EPS of $1.03 compared to the estimated $1.08, and revenue of $2.79 billion against the projected $3.13 billion.
• MPLX announced a quarterly dividend of $0.9565, which translates to an annual yield of 7.6%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 90.97%.

True North Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,013 shares of the pipeline company's stock, valued at approximately $482,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth about $221,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 141.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $95,011,000 after buying an additional 1,161,714 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,201 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,218,000 after buying an additional 6,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $41,917,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Mplx from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Saturday, August 2nd. 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. According to MarketBeat, Mplx presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.63.

Mplx Price Performance

Mplx stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.78. 155,203 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,616,297. Mplx Lp has a 12 month low of $40.73 and a 12 month high of $54.87. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $50.82 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.73.

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 (EPS) 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 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 business posted $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.7%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.