Americana Partners LLC Increases Stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Americana Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 458,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,459 shares during the period. Mplx comprises about 1.4% of Americana Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $20,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC increased its holdings in Mplx by 450.0% in the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth $67,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MPLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America started coverage on Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.67.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.54. The stock had a trading volume of 377,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,747. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx Lp has a 12 month low of $35.06 and a 12 month high of $45.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.52%.

Mplx Company Profile

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.