Chickasaw Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Mplx Lp $MPLX

Chickasaw Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,429,906 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 181,918 shares during the quarter. Mplx accounts for approximately 11.9% of Chickasaw Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Chickasaw Capital Management LLC owned about 0.53% of Mplx worth $289,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mplx in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Mplx during the second quarter worth about $26,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mplx in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Operose Advisors LLC grew its position in Mplx by 216.2% in the 2nd quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in Mplx in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Mplx Stock Up 0.8%

MPLX opened at $58.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $59.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 0.56. Mplx Lp has a twelve month low of $44.60 and a twelve month high of $59.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $57.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.74.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The pipeline company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 37.79% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mplx Lp will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $1.0765 per share. This represents a $4.31 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 89.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Mplx from $64.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Mplx from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Mplx from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Mplx from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Mplx from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.88.

About Mplx

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.