Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Acquired by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 15.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,680 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,116 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Mplx were worth $1,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Mplx during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,253,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Mplx by 53.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,826,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $75,909,000 after purchasing an additional 639,851 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,028,327 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $111,200,000 after buying an additional 574,737 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Mplx by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 2,740,500 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $100,631,000 after buying an additional 480,000 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 170.6% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 637,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $23,394,000 after buying an additional 401,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Mplx stock opened at $42.88 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.30. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Mplx Lp has a 12-month low of $34.47 and a 12-month high of $43.42.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $3.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.68% and a net margin of 35.95%. Mplx’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.93%. Mplx’s payout ratio is 87.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Mplx in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

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.