Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) Given Neutral Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) in a report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $57.00 target price on the pipeline company’s stock.

MPLX has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Mplx from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research raised shares of Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of MPLX stock opened at $54.86 on Monday. Mplx has a 52 week low of $44.60 and a 52 week high of $54.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.03 and its 200-day moving average is $50.97.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The pipeline company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 37.61% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Equities research analysts expect that Mplx will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This is a boost from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Mplx during the 3rd quarter valued at $134,319,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Mplx by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 76,835 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after buying an additional 3,922 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP increased its stake in Mplx by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP now owns 55,025 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $2,748,000 after buying an additional 4,157 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 12.1% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 46,788 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after acquiring an additional 5,037 shares during the period. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at about $106,000. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.