Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Grows Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 58.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,156 shares of the pipeline company's stock after acquiring an additional 38,241 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Mplx were worth $4,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 141.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $95,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,161,714 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its position in Mplx by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,971,331 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $94,348,000 after buying an additional 37,845 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,200 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $75,054,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,506,962 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $72,123,000 after acquiring an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,412,895 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $67,621,000 after acquiring an additional 136,067 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MPLX traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,254,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,342. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.12. The company has a market capitalization of $50.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.65, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $39.84 and a 1-year high of $54.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Mplx's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Mplx's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MPLX. StockNews.com cut shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James increased their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

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.