Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stake Lessened by Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,596 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 8,202 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $22,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Marathon Petroleum by 2.6% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 4,286,892 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $743,690,000 after purchasing an additional 107,915 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 1.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,080,958 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $620,815,000 after purchasing an additional 31,100 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 0.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 2,773,050 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $558,390,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 8.5% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,669,815 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $463,160,000 after purchasing an additional 209,270 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Marathon Petroleum by 7.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,663,835 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $335,241,000 after purchasing an additional 117,790 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Marathon Petroleum Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MPC traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.47. The stock had a trading volume of 387,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,458. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.69 and its 200 day moving average is $168.87. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11. The stock has a market cap of $49.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.90. Marathon Petroleum had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 3.15%. The firm had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 10% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MPC shares. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $174.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $191.00 to $170.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Marathon Petroleum from $198.00 to $193.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.07.

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.