UBS Group AG Purchases 38,283 Shares of Mplx Lp $MPLX

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in MPLX by 38,283 shares in Q4, bringing its holding to 5,304,746 shares valued at about $283.1 million (roughly 0.52% of the company).
• MPLX declared a quarterly dividend of $1.0765 per share (ex-dividend May 8, payable May 15), implying an annualized $4.31 payout and a yield of about 7.8% with a payout ratio near 89.4%.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $62 consensus target, and several firms have raised targets recently (Goldman Sachs to $63, Barclays to $59) amid mixed individual ratings.

UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,304,746 shares of the pipeline company's stock after purchasing an additional 38,283 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.52% of Mplx worth $283,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 4.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 24,049 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mplx by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,557 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 19,139 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $986,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Mplx by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 53,113 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 5,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 62.5% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 6,500 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MPLX. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Raymond James Financial lowered Mplx from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Mplx Stock Up 0.7%

MPLX opened at $55.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $55.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.56. Mplx Lp has a twelve month low of $47.80 and a twelve month high of $59.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $57.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.86.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 37.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.42%.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP NYSE: MPLX is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership's asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.

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