Augustine Asset Management Inc. Buys 7,630 Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 140.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,080 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 7,630 shares during the quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Mplx were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Mplx by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 393.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Price Performance

NYSE MPLX opened at $53.26 on Wednesday. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $37.78 and a 12-month high of $54.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The business had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.9565 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.18%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In related news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MPLX shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Mplx Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.