Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,170 shares of the pipeline company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Mplx by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 87,484 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $4,187,000 after acquiring an additional 26,967 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Mplx by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,724 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Mplx by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,403 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Mplx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,095,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Mplx by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 130,956 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $6,268,000 after purchasing an additional 7,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $53.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.40. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $39.56 and a one year high of $54.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $52.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 31.94% and a net margin of 36.18%. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a $0.9565 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $3.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.13%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shawn M. Lyon acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.75 per share, with a total value of $211,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 25,299 shares in the company, valued at $1,334,522.25. The trade was a 18.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MPLX. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Mplx from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Mplx from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James increased their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Mplx from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.00.

Mplx Company Profile

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.