Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in Marathon Petroleum Co. (NYSE:MPC) by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 2,493 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Marathon Petroleum were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPC. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 3.8% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 53,571 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $8,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Marathon Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth about $325,000. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,775 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum during the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,107,000. Finally, MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Marathon Petroleum by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC now owns 170 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MPC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $196.00 to $183.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Marathon Petroleum from $172.00 to $171.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tudor Pickering lowered Marathon Petroleum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on Marathon Petroleum from $168.00 to $159.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. downgraded Marathon Petroleum from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Marathon Petroleum currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.07.

Marathon Petroleum Price Performance

Shares of Marathon Petroleum stock opened at $157.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $159.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.73. Marathon Petroleum Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.98 and a fifty-two week high of $221.11.

Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The oil and gas company reported $1.87 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $35.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $8.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Marathon Petroleum Co. will post 9.41 EPS for the current year.

Marathon Petroleum Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from Marathon Petroleum’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Marathon Petroleum’s payout ratio is currently 26.15%.

Marathon Petroleum declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 10% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.