Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $53.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the pipeline company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MPLX. UBS Group increased their price objective on Mplx from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Mplx from $48.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Mplx from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.56.

Mplx Price Performance

MPLX stock traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.56. 555,615 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,858,064. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.02. The company has a market cap of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. Mplx has a one year low of $36.27 and a one year high of $51.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.04). Mplx had a net margin of 36.77% and a return on equity of 32.70%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Mplx will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.9565 dividend. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.22%. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In other news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total transaction of $188,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $696,790. This trade represents a 21.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Mplx by 73.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,066 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its position in Mplx by 450.0% during the second quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mplx during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mplx in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mplx in the second quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

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.