Ohio-based energy logistics and infrastructure company MPLX (MPLX +0.18%) has raised its quarterly distribution by 12.5%, an increase that lifts its current dividend yield to 7.5%.
According to the company's Oct. 28 press release, the new third-quarter payout amount will be $1.0765 per common unit, or $4.31 annually, and will be paid Nov. 14, to shareholders of record as of Nov. 7.
NYSE: MPLX
Key Data Points
The increase bumps MPLX's dividend yield to more than triple the 2.1% average yield of the S&P Energy Sector (XLE +0.01%), and over six times the current 1.2% rate paid by the S&P 500 index.
On a one-year total return basis through Oct. 31, a metric that includes share price performance plus dividend income, MPLX has returned 23.4%, outpacing the S&P 500's 21.4% return and dwarfing the Energy Sector's 2.8% tally.
Income-oriented investors should note that MPLX is structured as a master limited partnership, or MLP. That means investors -- or unitholders -- receive income that is treated and taxed differently than traditional dividend payouts and is reported on a K-1 form, rather than the 1099 tax forms typically issued to common stockholders.
The high-yielding pipeline operator and fuel distribution service provider was founded and has been trading on the NYSE since 2012. It was formed and is majority-owned by Marathon Petroleum (MPC +0.45%), which currently collects about $2.5 billion annually in cash payments from the arrangement.
MPLX is slated to report Q3 results and hold a conference call on Nov. 4.
