Energy Income Partners LLC Invests $303.07 Million in Mplx Lp $MPLX

Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,380,295 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,072,000. Mplx accounts for approximately 4.8% of Energy Income Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLX. Belfer Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mplx by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,849 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Mplx by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthstar Advisors LLC now owns 12,598 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Mplx by 0.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 22,175 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its position in shares of Mplx by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 5,658 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. increased its position in shares of Mplx by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 17,449 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mplx Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of MPLX opened at $59.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.31 billion, a PE ratio of 12.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.48. Mplx Lp has a 1 year low of $47.80 and a 1 year high of $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $57.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.90.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06. The firm had revenue of $3.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 35.75% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.03 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Mplx Lp will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $1.0765 dividend. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wolfe Research lowered Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Mplx from $61.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mplx presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.80.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.