Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 64,842 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 165.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 104,132 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,842 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $20,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.9% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 6,333 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,276,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Guidance Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 5,483 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 27.3% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 275 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN grew its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 2.5% in the first quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 2,429 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 1,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Trading Down 4.9 %

MPC stock traded down $8.54 on Friday, reaching $164.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,599,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,325,567. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.52. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 12-month low of $133.65 and a 12-month high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $58.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The oil and gas company reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.25. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 25.87% and a net margin of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $32.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $32.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.48%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 30th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 7.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MPC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Tudor Pickering upgraded Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $203.00 to $201.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $186.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.85.

Marathon Petroleum Profile

Marathon Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated downstream energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Refining & Marketing, and Midstream segments. The Refining & Marketing segment refines crude oil and other feedstocks at its refineries in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and West Coast regions of the United States; and purchases refined products and ethanol for resale and distributes refined products, including renewable diesel, through transportation, storage, distribution, and marketing services.