Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,116,581 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 21,139 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $367,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MPC. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 400.0% during the 1st quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Marathon Petroleum during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MPC. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $207.00 to $191.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Tudor Pickering raised shares of Marathon Petroleum to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $223.00 to $196.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.38.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.6 %

Marathon Petroleum stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $178.90. 2,057,007 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,639,633. The company has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.40. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a twelve month low of $139.32 and a twelve month high of $221.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $171.36 and a 200-day moving average of $180.10.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The oil and gas company reported $4.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.09 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $38.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $36.66 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 25.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.32 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

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

Marathon Petroleum Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.48%.

About Marathon Petroleum

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.