Rockbridge Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Rockbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,381 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000. Mplx makes up approximately 0.1% of Rockbridge Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Mplx by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,135 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in Mplx in the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Mplx by 139.6% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,785 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. RE Dickinson Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE:MPLX opened at $50.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $51.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.76. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $39.95 and a one year high of $54.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $50.24.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.03. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders 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 7.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MPLX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Mplx from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Mplx news, VP Shawn M. Lyon bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 25,299 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,334,522.25. The trade was a 18.78% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Mplx 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.