BBR Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

BBR Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ING Groep NV lifted its position in Mplx by 69.8% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4,274.2% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 811,371 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 792,822 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Mplx by 387.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 823,467 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $36,611,000 after purchasing an additional 654,500 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. grew its stake in Mplx by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. now owns 14,825,905 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $631,435,000 after buying an additional 353,324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT increased its position in Mplx by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,498,796 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $66,636,000 after buying an additional 217,674 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Price Performance

NYSE:MPLX opened at $50.52 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $45.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.12. The firm has a market cap of $51.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.37. 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 Lp has a one year low of $35.51 and a one year high of $50.73.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.70% and a net margin of 36.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.26 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.9565 per share. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.57%. This is a positive change from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Mplx’s payout ratio is 90.33%.

Insider Activity at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares in the company, valued at $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Mplx from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.44.

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.