Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Sold by Delphi Financial Group Inc.

Delphi Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX - Free Report) by 78.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 341,079 shares of the pipeline company's stock after selling 1,242,310 shares during the quarter. Mplx accounts for 7.3% of Delphi Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Delphi Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Mplx were worth $12,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 2.2% during the third quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,784 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Mplx by 1.2% during the first quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 26,220 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Mplx by 12.9% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Lee Financial Co increased its position in Mplx by 5.1% during the third quarter. Lee Financial Co now owns 6,821 shares of the pipeline company's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Mplx by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 80,866 shares of the pipeline company's stock valued at $2,656,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $43.86.

Mplx Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.64. 2,881,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,750,960. The firm has a market cap of $41.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.35. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.89. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $40.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.82% and a return on equity of 31.85%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.37%. Mplx's dividend payout ratio is currently 89.24%.

About Mplx

MPLX LP owns and operates midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Logistics and Storage, and Gathering and Processing. The company is involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas; gathering, transportation, fractionation, storage, and marketing of natural gas liquids; gathering, storage, transportation, and distribution of crude oil and refined products, as well as other hydrocarbon-based products and renewables; and sale of residue gas and condensate.