Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) Shares Purchased by Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC

Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 479.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after buying an additional 127,100 shares during the period. Mplx comprises 3.9% of Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $7,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 7.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 149,509 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,647,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 387.5% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 23,543 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 18,714 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Mplx by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 280,885 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $12,488,000 after buying an additional 19,320 shares during the period. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Mplx by 69.8% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $294,699,000 after buying an additional 2,725,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Mplx by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,276,828 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $56,768,000 after buying an additional 64,714 shares during the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MPLX opened at $51.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.43. Mplx Lp has a fifty-two week low of $37.04 and a fifty-two week high of $53.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be paid a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s payout ratio is 90.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Mplx in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.89.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of Mplx stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. The trade was a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

About Mplx

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.