Granby Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Granby Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,000 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the period. Mplx makes up approximately 2.5% of Granby Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Granby Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Mplx were worth $4,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mplx by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 38,506 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $1,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,705 shares in the last quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in Mplx by 479.6% in the fourth quarter. Walnut Private Equity Partners LLC now owns 153,600 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $7,351,000 after purchasing an additional 127,100 shares during the period. Bramshill Investments LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Bramshill Investments LLC now owns 30,130 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 12,556 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Mplx by 9,134.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 11,635 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $557,000 after buying an additional 11,509 shares during the period. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its holdings in shares of Mplx by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 1,506,962 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $72,123,000 after buying an additional 8,166 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX opened at $49.03 on Friday. Mplx Lp has a fifty-two week low of $39.84 and a fifty-two week high of $54.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Mplx had a net margin of 36.18% and a return on equity of 31.94%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price target on Mplx from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,334,522.25. This represents a 18.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.