Mplx Lp $MPLX Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 339,111 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 15,415 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Mplx were worth $19,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MPLX. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Mplx in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Performance

NYSE MPLX opened at $56.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $57.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $56.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.20. Mplx Lp has a 1-year low of $47.80 and a 1-year high of $59.98.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The pipeline company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.09 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 32.74% and a net margin of 36.38%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mplx Lp will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MPLX shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mplx from a “buy (a)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Mplx in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Mplx from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Mplx from $62.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.60.

About Mplx

MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) is a midstream master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops energy infrastructure primarily across the United States. The company provides a range of midstream services including the gathering, transportation, storage and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs). MPLX also operates processing and fractionation facilities and supplies logistics services that connect producers, refiners and end-use markets.

The partnership’s asset base includes pipelines, storage terminals, rail and marine facilities, natural gas processing plants and NGL fractionators.