Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $54.45 and last traded at $54.35, with a volume of 403134 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.11.

Mplx Trading Up 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $55.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $49.89 and a 200-day moving average of $46.38.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.39 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 7.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.97%.

Insider Transactions at Mplx

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Mplx by 69.8% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 6,628,400 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $294,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,000 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 5,735,562 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $255,003,000 after buying an additional 45,271 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 141.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,985,181 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $95,011,000 after buying an additional 1,161,714 shares during the last quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Mplx by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 1,971,331 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $94,348,000 after acquiring an additional 37,845 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Mplx by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,568,200 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $75,054,000 after acquiring an additional 17,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.