Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $55.50.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MPLX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Raymond James raised 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. This trade represents a 18.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Institutional Trading of Mplx

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mplx by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,435 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,217,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 325.9% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 123,663 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $5,919,000 after acquiring an additional 94,628 shares during the period. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,694 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after acquiring an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 52,095 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $2,493,000 after acquiring an additional 7,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company's stock.

Mplx Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE MPLX opened at $51.79 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $51.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. Mplx has a twelve month low of $39.95 and a twelve month high of $54.87. The stock has a market cap of $52.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. Mplx's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Mplx's payout ratio is 88.22%.

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.

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