Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 10,590 Shares of Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 1.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 846,308 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 10,590 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $137,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,820,000. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 803.8% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 13,240 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 11,775 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 40,414 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth $296,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter worth $87,000. 76.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MPC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Marathon Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Tudor Pickering cut shares of Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.6 %

Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $155.19 on Wednesday. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a 52 week low of $140.98 and a 52 week high of $221.11. The firm has a market cap of $49.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $160.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $169.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 16.19%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.14 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share 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 paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Company 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.