Creative Planning Increases Stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 45.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 51,508 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,076 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Mplx were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Mcdonald Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 17,180 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 10.4% in the second quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Belfer Management LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 4.4% in the first quarter. Belfer Management LLC now owns 7,733 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $321,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Prossimo Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 6.3% in the second quarter. Prossimo Advisors LLC now owns 6,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Mplx by 5.9% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 7,505 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX stock opened at $43.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.37. Mplx Lp has a 1 year low of $35.06 and a 1 year high of $45.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.25.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a net margin of 35.95% and a return on equity of 32.68%. The business had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.3 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPLX has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.67.

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.