Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Mplx (NYSE:MPLX)

Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders bought 6,743 call options on the company. This is an increase of 214% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,146 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Mplx from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Zacks Research raised Mplx from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Mplx from $60.00 to $59.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Mplx in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mplx currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Mplx Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MPLX opened at $53.96 on Friday. Mplx has a 1-year low of $44.60 and a 1-year high of $56.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.42. The firm has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $2.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Mplx had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 37.61%. Analysts anticipate that Mplx will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were paid a $1.0765 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.0%. This is an increase from Mplx’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 91.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mplx

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the second quarter worth $26,000. Solstein Capital LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the third quarter valued at $25,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in Mplx by 216.2% during the second quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 24.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mplx Company Profile

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.