Americana Partners LLC Reduces Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Americana Partners LLC reduced its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 420,041 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Mplx accounts for approximately 1.4% of Americana Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $17,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Mplx by 73.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

MPLX stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,072,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,961,783. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.23. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $34.47 and a 52-week high of $43.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.37.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.17. Mplx had a net margin of 34.96% and a return on equity of 31.70%. The company had revenue of $3.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.02 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MPLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 price target on shares of Mplx in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Mplx Company 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.