Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,045 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Mplx were worth $2,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. PSI Advisors LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 63.6% during the 4th quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 900 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $41.77 on Thursday. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The pipeline company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.01). Mplx had a return on equity of 31.70% and a net margin of 34.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.06 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 3rd will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 2nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 8.14%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Mplx from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.11.

Mplx 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.