Wesbanco Bank Inc. Acquires 1,500 Shares of Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in Mplx Lp (NYSE:MPLX) by 27.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,879 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Mplx were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cedar Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the third quarter worth $51,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Mplx by 393.0% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,451 shares of the pipeline company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Zhang Financial LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the third quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC bought a new position in Mplx in the third quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 24.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mplx

In other Mplx news, VP Carl Kristopher Hagedorn sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.24, for a total value of $188,960.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $696,790. This represents a 21.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mplx Trading Up 0.0 %

Mplx stock opened at $51.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Mplx Lp has a one year low of $37.04 and a one year high of $53.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $48.93 and its 200 day moving average is $45.34.

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The pipeline company reported $1.01 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mplx Lp will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Mplx Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a $0.9565 dividend. This represents a $3.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. Mplx’s dividend payout ratio is 90.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPLX. Bank of America began coverage on Mplx in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Mplx from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com raised Mplx from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Mplx from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Mplx from $53.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.89.

Mplx Company Profile

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Logistics and Storage (L&S) and Gathering and Processing (G&P) segments. The Logistics and Storage segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water.