Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Trims Holdings in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp trimmed its stake in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 30,662 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 436 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in Mplx were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. NBW Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Mplx by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 271,861 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $9,983,000 after acquiring an additional 61,019 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Mplx by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 15,155 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,878,000. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC acquired a new position in shares of Mplx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 24.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mplx Stock Performance

Mplx stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $40.21. 1,734,991 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,177,857. The stock has a market cap of $40.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.07. Mplx Lp has a 52-week low of $33.12 and a 52-week high of $42.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $40.16 and its 200 day moving average is $37.71.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 30th. The pipeline company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.88 billion. Mplx had a net margin of 34.82% and a return on equity of 31.85%. Mplx’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. Analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.46%. Mplx’s payout ratio is currently 89.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MPLX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Mplx from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Mplx from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.86.

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.