Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 1,075 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,337 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $2,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 22.8% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 4,972 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 924 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,000. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 353.4% during the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 55,989 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $9,713,000 after acquiring an additional 43,639 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the second quarter worth $4,075,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the second quarter worth $513,000. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MPC has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $167.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.67.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $153.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.90. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a one year low of $140.98 and a one year high of $221.11. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $169.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.38.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. The company had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.14 EPS. Analysts forecast that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 8.71 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This is a positive change from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 5th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.